Health group. The business seminar went great!!! I was really happy with the NGO and my health group. SIDO has great teachers and they did a wonderful job with the group teaching them all about how to run a small business and how to make 5 food products. It was a great success and my health group LOVED it! What a fantastic last project with my group :)

The business seminar finished up Saturday and on Sunday I had a small going away party with my Mama and my counterpart Joyce. It was informal but they really put a lot of thought into it and I had a lovely time. It was so random because it was me, Joyce, my Mama, and then they also invited my carpenter (who has made all my furniture) and the village veterinarian (who has helped me take care of all my crazy cats). Even with the odd group of people it was a great little party. My mama cooked duck (so good!!), potatoes, rice, beans, and vegetables. They brought everything to my house and set up the table all nice. Joyce also brought beers and she and I wore our jeans! Talk about a crazy time!! Joyce gave me a really pretty shall and my Mama gave me 2 handmade clay pots. I LOVED both presents. Before dinner, we each said just a few words and I got choked up. All these goodbyes are too hard. We took some pictures which are up on Facebook which you may have seen. At the end, I let the others leave and then I gave my Mama and Joyce their presents. Each got 2 picture frames with pictures of me and them, a photo album full of pictures from my 2 years and a note to each of them, and then a phone because months ago both of them had their phones fail/broken and I am going to need to be able to call them!! They hugged me, were overwhelmed with their gifts, and almost started to cry. It was an emotional but terrific evening.

Monday and Tuesday I did the usual around the house and in the village with a usual health group meeting Tuesday. At the meeting, they mostly talked about my going away party and practiced the song they wrote for me. They are so cute!

Wednesday, I went to town to get some last minute things done. Then that evening I went to two other site-mates house along with my site-mates Megan and Nicole. They threw a going away party for me and made such good ‘tacos’ and a berry cobbler. The meal was delicious!! The rest of the evening we just hung out and chatted. All five of us haven’t been together just us in a long while, so it was really nice to visit and spend the night together.

Thursday, we all left early because we had work to do. Nicole and I went through the small town of Muheza to get to our villages. There we stopped to have tea and some breakfast. Afterwards, I headed back to my village. I got some work done in the morning and then I tried to take a nap that didn’t work out because people kept stopping by. Finally, I just got up because I had to go to my health group’s Thursday meeting at 2pm. They again, just continued planning and went over the specifics of my going away party Saturday and practiced the song. Adorable. When I got home, I went for a run, got water (yay! It’s been dry’ round here lately), and talked to me friend up north about how hard this all is…leaving our villages.

Friday morning my milk man visited me and he was passing by my house. He brought me a letter that he had written to me and it was full of such kind words. He also wanted to thank me again for the going away presents that I had given him. We had a wonderful conversation; I am going to miss him and his family so much. Later that morning I took a donation to my primary school. It was a donation from home of soccer t-shirts, shorts, soccer balls, pumps/pins, jump ropes, and a Frisbee. They were also so grateful and were so excited about the equipment. It’s so fun giving people gifts/donations/making people so happy. They too, had so many nice things to say and we took pictures of the occasion. That afternoon, I did my usual of working out and also prepared dinner because I was having a couple students over that evening. I also had a meeting with my health group again. I pretty much just read my book while they went over the details for my going away party the next day. When I got back to my house about 5pm, Tullo and John were already there. We chatted for a bit and then 2 teachers from the secondary school came by. We all hung out and chatted for a while and the teachers also filled me in on about my going away party they were having for me on Monday. After the teachers left, I gave my students their going away presents which consisted of school supplies. They absolutely loved everything! They also got a bit emotional about having to say goodbye to me soon and thanking me for their gifts and everything. They are such wonderful students and are so dear to me. Just as all the goodbyes are going to be, saying it to them is going to be so difficult. When we finished chatting about things, we ate dinner. I made spaghetti for them again which they really like. We all ate a lot and had such a lovely evening. As they were leaving, another teacher from my primary school stopped by. She hadn’t been at the school that morning when I dropped off the donation because she has malaria but she wanted to come by and see me. She was so sweet. She was so sick but still wanted to come by and say hello and chat before she didn’t have the chance to again. We sat and talk for a while, mostly about me leaving, staying in contact, about education, etc. I really like her and am glad she stopped by for a short while because I hadn’t seen her since we closed the school. When she left about 8pm, I spent some time in the phone with my friend. Then later than usual, I got a knock on the door about 9ish. It was one of my other favorite students. She grandmother is in my health group and I hadn’t seen her also since before the school closed. We talked for a few minutes. She is such and an adorable girl and I love her to pieces. She was also in my FEMA Club at the secondary school along with Tullo and John. I was so glad to see her after such a long school break. All in all, a very good day, but still full of goodbyes which is so hard to handle and I am not even done yet.

Saturday I woke up kind of late, about 9am. This has become a usual thing the past few weeks because I don’t work much anymore and my milkman (as I said many blogs ago) doesn’t come by my house in the morning to deliver milk because his cow is pregnant. Anyways, when I got up the first thing I did was work out. I was expecting my friend later so I wanted to make sure I got my workout in. Mid-morning one of my site-mates arrived and then the other about noon-ish. We hung out most of the day, chatted, and were waiting to go to my going away party at 230pm. When the time arrived, we headed to the village office for the party. They decorated the office and had everything set up so nice. The party began with introductions, then some of the members some words about our time together, they gave me my going away present, sang a song about our 2 years as a group and what we have done, and then we all shook hands and many of the mamas were getting tear-y eyed and actually some of the guys too. It was so sweet, but as soon as the first mama started crying then I started. I couldn’t help it! I got all choked up. Then it was my turn to speak. I had written it out, but I was so flustered and half crying my Kiswahili was terrible and I kept having to dab at my eyes. But they loved my speech and encouraged me all the way through it. They are the warmest, most loving people. When I was finished I gave them my gift, which was a photo album that I had made. It included pictures from the whole 2 years and also a copy of my speech that I had made in both Kiswahili and English. In the back, I also put 4 picture postcards of Washington, so they could see what it looked like and remember where I was originally from. When I was finished, one of the major figures in the village government (I forget his position) made a speech. I always love his speeches!! He is such a smart person with a worldly view of thing for coming from a small village. Note: he is also the grandfather of one of my favorite students John (who was also there as my CameraMan). His speech was wonderful and I really enjoyed it as usual. As we concluded the party, a few people say a few more short things and we all shook hands and took some pictures. It was absolutely perfect, touching, and I enjoyed every minute as emotional as it was. When we finished, we head over to where the food was being served. We had a great meal that the mamas prepared. It included the usual meat, rice, beans, cabbage, potatoes, oranges, and soda. I ate way too much which makes them happy. After we all finished eating, we took group pictures and said our goodbyes. It was a lovely day.

Later the girls and I returned to my house. We didn’t do much other than watch TV shows on the computers. We were pretty sedated by all the food we had eaten. When the computers died, we chatted for a bit, and went to sleep.

Sunday, the girls and I went to Tanga for our last trip to town together. When we arrived, we got breakfast at the nice hotel and ate until we hurt again :) It’s a buffet with American breakfast foods, like cereal with COLD milk, so you have to eat a lot haha. Thereafter, we spent the whole day poolside, swimming and I worked on my tan before I have to leave this beautiful sunny year-round place. That evening, we went to our favorite Indian restaurant to eat way too much again. I think I have mentioned this before but Tanga (the closet major town where we go) has a high population of Indians. Therefore, the Indian food here is to die for and is the best I have ever had. So I had to go to our favorite restaurant one last time and get all my favorite things!! Delicious!! And to top it all off the girls had surprised me by inviting some of our friends in Tanga. It was such an awesome surprise!! They were there when we got there and I was so freaking happy!! We had some beers, chatted, laughed a lot, and ate a great meal. They also surprised me with a going away present that I will treasure forever. One thing was a hand-carved welcome sign in Kiswahili (‘Karibu’). The other (and most sentimental) was the card that was signed by all my favorite people in town, including the guys from our internet café who have helped me immensely for the past 2 years, my mama that works at our fruit place, and the owner of our other small mom’n’pop Indian restaurant, and the girls/volunteers. It was the best card EVER!! Later, after a long yummy dinner, we got back to the hostel and watch The Tourist. The movie, of course, is simply fantastic because it has my bride-to-be in it, Angelina Jolie. And to add, it’s got Johnny Depp too. Not a bad combo. Again, I had a great day but sad, weird, and all of that too.

The next morning on Monday, Megan and I headed out early because we had stuff to do in our villages. As soon as I got back, I got ready and went to the other primary school to deliver the soccer equipment donation. They loved everything too and were super excited. The Headmaster is extremely nice and I was so happy to bring him the donation because I really haven’t done work with that school. Too many schools, so little time. I also had to say goodbye to my friend Editha. She is one of my best friends in the village and is a teacher at that school. So when I left the school, I had to say goodbye to her which was really sad.

After the primary school, I went to the Secondary School again. Two teachers had come over Saturday to tell me that they had planned a little goodbye for me and to come on Monday. When I arrived, the students and I first took a million pictures. My two favorite students, John and Tullo, led me around the whole school to take pictures with everyone. I haven’t looked at all of them yet but we must have taken close to 300 pictures. Practically, each student wanted their own picture with me. It was endearing and exhausting smiling that much too haha. When the students got their fill of pictures, I sat in the office, read, and ate a snack. That afternoon, the teachers set up a little goodbye thing in the office. I sat at the head table with the Headmaster. Most of the teachers took turns saying a few words, we had soda and cake, and they gave me a gift. I also said a few words, nothing scripted though. It was very nice of them but also a little awkward because it was never my favorite thing I had done (so I really wasn’t going to miss teaching haha). Thereafter, the teachers had finished with their small celebration and they gathered the students for the end of the day ‘assembly.’ My headmaster made a speech, as well as John and Tullo. They all had very nice things to say. Then I made a very short and sweet speech that I totally winged. As everyone was leaving, the teachers and I also took some pictures together. They were really funny and wanted to look at every picture we took. When I was ready to leave, 2 of the teachers walked my most of the way home which was very nice of them because it is pretty far. One my way home, I stopped and said hello to the doctor and nurses at the Health Dispensary. We had a nice conversation about leaving Kicheba and returning to America. Then I headed home where I just hung around the house while I had a constant trail of visitors coming in all afternoon through the evening. Again, I had to say some really hard goodbyes. I’m getting sick of saying goodbye; literally it’s been making me nauseous because of all the sadness and other emotions making me so upset and flustered. I don’t want to leave but I also can’t wait until this is over. I don’t know how much more sadness I can take.

That night, I did major packing and organizing, hoping to get most of it done that night. I wanted to have as little as possible to do my last night in the village. I didn’t want to be stressing out too much the last night trying to get everything together. I think I did a good job because it didn’t leave me with much to do the next day.

My last day in my village. Tuesday, I woke up and hung around the house for a little while. I cleaned, called to arrange for my taxi the next morning, and then I went out into the village to get something to eat (I had no food in my house). I also wanted to take some last minute pictures. As I was out and about in my village, I greeted and said goodbye to many people along the way. It was weird walking through my village for the last time. It was so surreal; I can’t explain it. I stopped at two ‘restaurants’ to have tea and something to eat. After a while, I took my camera’s battery to get charged so I would have it for my last going away party later that day. Then I stopped by my counterpart’s office and gave her some things I wanted to get rid of; we talked for a few minutes and then I left and she went back to preparing for my party. While I as hanging out at home, I busied myself with some more cleaning, playing with the kids, and reading. The afternoon went quickly and about 2:30pm I was escorted to my party at the village office. Though the party was similarly structured as the other parties, it was just as delightful. This party was with the village government, so I was happy to see some people I don’t see often, especially this one elder who I absolutely love and I think is the most adorable and kind man. They (as I have said many times) had many kind things to say that just simply warmed my heart and made me feel so special and appreciated. They are the kindest and most caring people that I have ever met. I got two more going away gifts, one from the whole village government and one personally from the WEO (Ward Executive Officer). I also again had to make a small speech. I didn’t prepare this one either but it went well…until I started crying. Then I just wrapped it up by saying ‘thank you’ and quickly sat down. I cannot keep the tears in check these days. Things are just too emotional. At the completion of the party, we had soda and took more pictures. It was absolutely magnificent. When I got home, I hung out with my mama and kids for a while and then I started to get many visitors, so I just mingled around my house as visitors kept coming and coming one right after the other until about 9pm. At some point, my loving mama brought me dinner so I could eat. I had my favorite, rice and beans made with coconut milk and vegetables. Finally, after everyone left…I got one more visitor haha. But really, after I closed and locked my door about 9:15pm, I bathed and did more organizing/cleaning up (it’s crazy how that stuff never ends). To wind down, I drank some milk I got earlier, typed some of this blog, and hung out with my Sparky-look-a-like who I have become very fond of. By 11pm, I was exhausted, so I just read a bit and went to bed. Besides the fact that it was my last day which in itself was so sad, I had a lovely day with my village and villagers. I couldn’t have asked for a better end to my life in a small yet amazing Tanzanian village.

Wednesday I woke up early and I did a few last minutes things but for the most part I was ready. I had prepared well, which I am glad I did. I wasn’t stressed out or having to run around doing a bunch of things. My closest site-mate came over from her village and came to my house to head to town with me. While we hung out waiting for the taxi to come, many of my students came by the house to say goodbye before they went to school. Especially, my primary school kids; it was so sweet!! About 8am (and on time!) my taxi arrived. By that point several members of my health group had come, my mama, neighbors, doctor, milkman, and kids were and my house to send me off. I hugged each and every one of them and started to cry (just a little bit) and quickly got in the card and did what I had to do. Leave. In the car I was OK. I think I was just didn’t believe that I wouldn’t be returning. When I got to the small town of Muheza, Nicole and I had tea/breakfast, I returned my PO Box keys, and pick up some skirts for my tailor. After that, I got on a bus and headed to Tanga. In Tanga, I ate at my favorite fruit place, ran some errands, and posted this blog.

Next on the agenda is to head to Zanzibar until Sunday. While I am there I am going to relax, de-stress, reflect, tan, and….get my PADI scuba diving certification! So cool, right?! I will be able to scuba-dive anywhere in the world. I am super excited. Many of my friends have scuba certifications and now I will be able to dive with them. YAY. Sunday I will take the ferry over to Dar and meet up with my friends who are also finishing their service at the same time. We will wrap up things at the office Monday through Wednesday and then very late Wednesday night I will leave for America. At 9:55pm Thursday evening I will be landing at Sea-Tac Airport. I don’t know what to say.

Random pieces of information:

- Frak is gone now too. I think they found new families because they knew I was leaving. And just maybe they are the smartest cats known to man and they knew with all the other goodbyes, they knew I was dreading saying goodbye to them and just walking away, abandoning them. So, they took it upon themselves to just head out and I have to believe that they are alive, okay, and just with new families or living the rolling stone life free and wild in Africa.

- My Sparky-look-a-like is so cute. I took some pictures of her. I swear she could be related to Sparky. She has been hanging out around my house with me and has become more and more comfortable with me. I think she is also very smart and new I need a friend during my last weeks here. Call it animal intuition.

- As you may have heard, I have cancelled my home coming party. Though I was really looking forward to it (for 2 years!), the date just didn’t work for many people. I don’t intend to reschedule it; it would be odd to have a welcome home party several weeks after getting back and after you already see many people. But I will keep you posted if anything changes and in the meantime I am sure I will see some of you around anyway.

And that’s that.

See you in America,

Jessica

I last wrote a blog on June 4th and already a month has passed. It’s just unbelievable. (I wonder how many times I have said that in my blogs if we counted??)

Since then…..

Primary School. As I said in my last blog we closed the school Friday June10th. I thought I would be done teaching, however the school continues to teach two of the grades for 3 weeks and they asked me to help. And though I was looking forward to finishing up my teaching I agreed to continue teaching for a week to help. The two grades were 7 (the class I had been teaching) and 4 also. I taught them English. But of course the school was not prepared. I came to the first day after closing the school with no idea what I was going to teach and no lessons. I asked what we were teaching and they just said ‘do a review.’ Ok then, just review the English language…in a week?!!? That’s when I asked for specifics and they gave me a book and a couple chapters to review, I entered the class and just rolled with it. The grade 7 class was great as usual but the 4th graders did not know any English!! Though they have had it for 4 years, so reviewing anything was just silly because I don’t think they knew it in the first place. But, oh well, I did the best I could and they were good students. I only taught for the first of the 3 weeks, so I finished June 17th.

That weekend the 18th, all 3 of us in the area went to one of my site-mate’s house and she also had a friend over. And guess what we did again??? We killed a chicken again!!! YAY, I’ve done it twice now, so I’m pretty much an expert and could live in the wilderness living on my own devices ;) This time I got my friends to take much better pictures and ALSO a video which I am going to have to get from my friend’s camera because it’s a must-see. That night we just made dinner and had a girls night, just good food and a movie.

I went back to my site the next day on Sunday and just hung out. I got there early and did some hardcore cleaning. The kids, of course, helped me clean. Then for the most of Sunday and Monday I hung out at home, relaxed and worked out as usual. I did get some work done but I really don’t have much work to do anymore, so my time is becoming more and more free. Monday, I got ready to leave to go to Dar on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday morning of the 21st I went to Dar for the 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps Celebration that was to be held on the 22nd. I was really excited about it because Director Williams of the Peace Corps was coming from Washington DC and the celebration was going to be at the United States Embassy. When I arrived, I went straight to the office to get some work done and drop off a bag I pre-packed for going home. I know; I’m genius! I packed the bag and took SO much of my stuff to Dar when I went for the 50th, so now I don’t have to carry it to Zanzibar on my way to Dar when I officially leave.

50th Anniversary of Peace Corps Celebration. The whole day was incredible! During the day of the 22nd, we had roundtable discussions with the Director himself and his staff. I spoke to them personally and had great conversations. They were really informative about where Peace Corps is going, what their plans are, how we can stay in the PC, about going home, etc. We covered numerous topics. I spoke a lot with his staff too about going home, finding a job, and using the Peace Corps resources that are available stateside to advance in grad school and/or getting a job. They were extremely helpful and I got both of their business cards and they said to email/call for anything. The whole meeting with them was fantastic!! After the roundtables, we had some free time that a lot of us used to get work done at the office. Afterwards, we went back to our hostel and got all jazzed up for the celebration. PS- I have not been that dressed up (or clean for that matter) or took that long to get ready in my whole 2 years I have been here, haha. When we got to the embassy some of us had ‘jobs.’ My job was to seat people after they checked in; I was a hostess. That was actually pretty fun because while I walked people from the entrance to their seat, I was able to chat with a lot of people from Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs), to local officials, and Embassy employees. After everyone arrived, we all sat down and they commenced the celebration. The whole evening was magical. The speeches made were amazing; especially one made by a volunteer brought me to tears. During the speeches, there were also a few performances made by PCVs intermixed. We were served appetizers and it was an open bar while we sat. When everything was completed, we were given dinner which included SO much food and they gave us giant plates so we had plenty to eat, including cake (yum). As the evening came to a close, we all mingled, and I chatted again with the director and his staff. Director Williams is quite a remarkable person, as well as very personable. I really felt privileged to meet and speak to him and his amazing staff.

After the event, a lot of the volunteers went out to a bar. My friends and I stayed for a short while and then head to the hostel to go to sleep. We were exhausted. The next day we had free, so we went to the office, yet again, to get work done. I had a really productive day. One of the things I did that day was speak to the Peace Corps about extending. For a while now, I have really been wanting to and considering extending. So I chatted with the staff and they gave me some positions that I could extend without hesitation. One really has my interest. It is a position extending with the PMI (President’s Malaria Initiative). It is a 13 month extension (including a 1 month home-leave). The position I am interested in sounds really interesting and the PMI itself is one of a kind. It would be amazing to be a part of the worldwide roll out of this initiative. It has many major backers, like World Bank, John Hopkins University, USAids, etc. It would, no doubt, be a great experience, plus I would get to stay in Tanzania longer and not come back to America where I would have to fill my time for a year before grad school. However, regardless of the of the benefits, extending for 13 months would have me finishing here the end of September of next year, which obviously would disrupt my wanting to start grad school in the same month. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that I will be coming home and staying home, without extending. It was hard to come to this conclusion because I really do love it here and without grad school to begin this September it was a really tempting offer. If there had just been a 6 to 8 month extension similar to the one I wanted, it would have been perfect. But, I guess, I will just have to suck it up, leave Tanzania, return to America and its awful economy and try to find a job while re-applying to graduate school. It’s only a year, right?!

Ok, back to that evening. Some of us ended up staying until the office closed at 5pm and then went to go get dinner. We got a ‘burritos’ at a ‘Mexican’ restaurant. There were SO good considering where we were. I mean, you can find a lot of good food when you go into town, but trying to find ‘real’ Mexican food is like trying to find a corvette here. (Note: when I get home, let’s go out to Mexican food every day!!!!!). We also got real donuts for dessert and I warmed mine up and they were beyond delicious! After hanging out for a bit, my friend and I finally got back to the hostel, showered, relaxed, and watched a movie. At some time in the middle of the movie we went out for a late dinner of Indian food (‘street chicken’). After getting back to the hostel, we barely finished the movie and crashed from exhaustion.

The next day on Friday June 24, I headed home. For the next week through Thursday, I didn’t do a whole lot. I have kept up on my running and working out. I had 2 meetings with my health group and I went to town once to get fruits, vegetables, and some work done for the following week. I slept in nearly every day until 9am, which is more times I have done in my whole 2 years here! I also spent a day hanging out with my milk man and his family. Other than that and I hang around the house; I am running out of things to do.

Friday July 1st, I went to Tanga Town to meet with my friends. We met up, hung out, and all went out for dinner. The next day, Saturday, I think I told you all about what we’re going to do in the last blog so to say the least we had A LOT of fun. Just some highlights: while on the boat, my fabulous sunbathing hat flew off my head so I immediately jumped off the boat to go rescue my fabulous hat. Yes people, I rescued my hat, but (you may have seen it in pictures) I got it on Zanzibar, its big, purple, and just plain fabulous. There was no doubt I was going to get that hat back!!! And the boat came back and got me ;) Other highlight: my best friend here and I started ‘partying’ for the 4th of July about 7:30am (don’t judge) so to say the least we were pretty smashed by mid-day and had a hell of time. IT was so much fun!! Nothing crazy or dumb, just us having a blast all day!!! Another note: we were going to have to say goodbye the next day (she’s extending and I’m not) so it was our last big hooray before we parted!!! All in all, the day went great….good food, sandbar, good friends, swimming…..everything, it was a fabulous last 4th of July party in Tanzania. After we got back from boating, I showered, changed, and went out to dinner with my bestie. We ate (much needed) and then we were asleep by 7:15pm haha :) WHAT A GREAT DAY!

Sunday, we woke up early and when to get some breakfast just a few of us. Then I had so say goodbye to my bestie. That was not fun!! I did not like it!! But at least we have plans to meet up in Ireland in May for her cousin’s wedding (man, that is going to be a kick-in-the-pants fun!!) The rest of the day, I relaxed, hung with remaining volunteers, got lunch, went to the market, and then went home.

Monday, I started my last project. It is a business seminar that I organized through a NGO called SIDO for my health group to begin an IGA. I think I also explained this in my last blog. It’s Monday July 4th through Saturday July 9th. So that is what I am doing all this week from about 8am to 3pm. It is going very well; I am really happy with SIDO and the attendance of my health group. It’s a nice way to wrapped up my work here.

Little nuggets of information:

- I have now read 60 books

- Frik has been MIA for 2 weeks now (I hope he just found another family or a girlfriend and he’s ok)

- That puts me down to 1 cat left, Frak, and I feel terrible that I am going to leave him here though I know it’s better for him. I just don’t want to say goodbye to his cute little face.

- I still have my village goodbye parties left (they have been rescheduling due to many things) I still have to endure saying many more goodbyes. BLAH.

- I leave my village in 15 days and Tanzania in 24

See you way freaking soon!!

Jessica

Okay, so last time I left you guys I had just gotten back from Dar from my COS conference and Evan’s trip. I didn’t think much had happened since then; it was just only about 4 weeks ago, but a lot can happen in a short time here!

First, electronics seem to hate me these days. I really hope this stops when I return to America because it is so frustrating!! I think I may have mentioned some of this in previous blogs but here’s a summary: my computer, ALL my flash drives, my external hard drive, and my camera’s memory cards are all WACKED OUT from viruses; I dropped my camera when it was open, so it’s not working; I accidentally dipped my ‘Tanzanian’ cell phone in the water, so it’s broken for good; and my 5, maybe 6 years old blackberry is on the frizt and gets awful service, but I’m just hoping that it lasts for the next 7.5 weeks. Like I said, technology has turned against me.

On a good note, I have found homes for almost all my kittens/cats. My site-mate took one kitten and another friend up North took the other 2 kittens!! I am so relieved that I found all the babies homes!! It took so much pressure and stress off my mind. I also found a home for Sparky, but she changed her plans without telling me. Another friend up North planned on taking Sparky and I again was so happy to have found her a home!!! So I packed her up and took her to my site-mate’s house the other weekend where I was going to meet my other friend from up North. He was coming down to visit, go to town, and pick up Sparky. But, while we were hanging out at the house, Sparky decided to split. She left and hasn’t been seen yet. I feel so bad about it; I’m still hoping she comes back to my site-mate’s house so my friend can take her on his next visit. But if not, I know she’ll be fine; she was always the toughest cat. And she’s the one who ran away! I was trying to give her a home for when I left! Last on the cat news, I have decided that Frik and Frak will be staying here. It still breaks my heart to leave them here, but I must. I don’t know where I will be staying in the states, for how long, and it will cost too much to bring them home. Plus, they are used to being outside all the time and roaming around. It wouldn’t be right to bring them home to the city and keep them cooped up in an apartment or house. I am going to give my Mama money to feed them for a few months until the next volunteer arrives. I just hope she actually uses most of the money to feed them and that the next volunteer arriving in August will like them and take care of them :)

That same day of the whole Sparky fiasco, I spent the night at my site-mate’s house. We had a great dinner of squid, fish, and shrimp that had been bought fresh in town. Our other friends visited for the day and prepared the whole meal. It was delicious! Along with the seafood we had salad, rice, carrots, and green beans. So good!! After that we had a TV show marathon that continued the next day until I left in the afternoon.

Alrighty, my friend who took 2 kittens had come down to my house for a few days to teach. He works for an NGO and teaches about the importance of planting trees. Note: people cut down a lot of trees here for building and especially for firewood, but they don’t plant trees, so deforestation is becoming a big problem. Therefore, he came down to teach at my Primary School and my Health Group. First, I showed both my Standard 7 English Class and my health group a video on permaculture, planting gardens, and making natural fertilizer. When my friend arrived, we did some prep work and went to the Primary School teach. To begin, he taught a lesson in the classroom on the importance of trees, why we need to plant them, how to plant them, and what we were going to do that day. Then we went outside to begin the dirty work. We had such a great time planting trees with the kids!! We made a mixture of sand, dirt, fertilizer, and water with our hands. The mixture was put into small tree bags where we planted the tree seeds (shade trees). We got super dirty and had a wonderful time planting about 200 seeds. And if any of you saw my status on FB, I ate a worm just to get a rise outa my students. They thought I was crazy haha. They were supposed to bring my candy or chocolate for eating the worm but I keep forgetting to ask them. I want my prize!

The next day we did the same lesson with my Health Group. We began in the office with a lesson on planting, farming, trees, and what we were going to do that day too. Then we went to one of my group member’s house and made two practice beds where we planted trees. We planted different trees than at the Primary School. These trees will primarily be used for firewood and planting around farms as a fence. We also made the same mixture to put into the tree bags. These we just prepped and will plant seeds into later. We also had a great time!! I took a lot of pictures that I will post as soon as I get them from my friend (remember my camera is broken blah).

I have mentioned this project before but it has been ongoing for quite some time. Last year I started asking NGOs for donations of books, pamphlets, informational packets, etc. about health issues. For the past year, I have been slowly collecting materials. The materials were to be used to install a small Library/resource center at the village hospital. A few months ago, I finally had collected enough materials to get it started. I asked a local carpenter to build a book cabinet. This I bought myself as my own donation (it was only about $37). He took a long time to build it (about 2 months!), but he finished last week!! I was super stoked to get this project really underway. The cabinet was brought to the hospital the next day and the doctor, nurses, village government, and I all met for a small celebration of the resource center’s opening. They really put a lot more effort and thought into the celebration than I was expecting and I really appreciated it. They were all so excited about its opening. So for about an hour and a half, we sat outside the hospital and the doctor and I spoke about the purpose of the resource center, how it came about, and that everyone is welcome to use it. Then some of the village officials said some words of appreciation and we took a bunch of pictures handing the keys over, opening the cabinet, and putting the books and materials into it. It was a lovely day! I am so proud of the resource center! I will be putting pictures up this weekend. (Note: this was part of my ‘perfect day’ for those who read my status on FB). Short history of the hospital and purpose of the resource center: so there is one ‘hospital’ in the village. It is located in the center of the village and it is not much bigger than my house. It has only 1 doctor and 3 nurses and serves the entire village of 3,500 people. With so few people on staff and so many to serve, patients often have to wait for a long time. Also, in general, getting health information (aka books) of any kind are hard to come by. Therefore, when I presented my idea to the doctor last year, he thought the resource center was a great idea and that the patients would really benefit from it, so that’s when I began the project. Now that the resource center is open, patients can read about all kinds of important health information while they wait. The topics covered are vast, such as maternal health, HIV/AIDS, malaria, children health, effects of drugs/alcohol/smoking, nutrition, puberty, etc. Many topics are covered, so that the patients can become informed about making good behavior changes concerning their health :)

Secondary School: Last Friday May 27th, we closed the school for break after completing the exams. It was really weird because it was the last time I was going to teach at the Secondary School. The school will be closed until July 18th. And with me leaving July 20th, I obviously won’t be teaching when the school opens again. Today, I just turned in my grades, so I have officially finished working at the Secondary School. It is really starting to sink in that my time here is coming to an end.

Primary School. This week we have our last classes and then we begin exams next week. After June 10th, I will be finished teach at the primary school too. Wow.

This past weekend, my site-mate came to visit me at my place and we killed chickens for dinner! Yep, that’s right, I killed a chicken with my own hands and a knife!! To kill a chicken, you hold on to the wings under your foot then you hold on to it’s head and cut its head off at the neck. My Mama was there the whole time and she helped us clean it after, i.e. cut off it’s feet, take off the feathers, skin it, take out the guts, etc. After that, we cut it up, cooked it, and ate for dinner along with rice, cooked carrots, and rolls. It was a delicious dinner! And now I know how to slaughter a chicken!

The next morning we went on a short but good hike up my mountain with a bunch of villagers. We went up to the water tank where everyone (but us) proceeded to clean out the tank. The tank is really big and it was full of algae and stuff. It was pretty gross inside but it was fun to watch all the water, mud, and grim be let out. It could have been on Dirty Jobs haha.

Currently, I am‘wrapping’ things up. I have decided the Frik and Frak are staying here, found homes for the others, finished teaching at the secondary school, finished teaching at the primary school this week, just have exams left next week, I have started packing/cleaning out junk, I have started to say ‘pre-goodbyes’ to my students who are leaving for the break and who will return just before I leave, I am taking pictures of all those ‘little’ things that I want to remember, I preparing speeches for my going away parties, giving a few things away, doing some things for that last time, and just soaking up everything I can in the time I have left.

Hard times: I have my going away party with my Health Group June 25th. I am going to A MESS!!! Lots of crying will be involved on my part. I have already cried a bunch of times about leaving, especially when writing my speech.

Fun times: I have plans for July 4th with 20 of my friends from around the area. It’s going to be great times and kind of like a Going Away party for a few of us. We are going out to Toten Island off of Tanga. We are going to go boating, see the island, walk through ruins, go to a sandbar, barbeque fish and make lunch on a sandbar, go fishing, and snorkeling. Then party hard that night haha. Whoo-hoo.

The only real work I have left is my meetings every week with my Health group and a 6 day Business seminar provided by an NGO for my Health Group. This is something I have been working on for a long time, aka it has taken a long time to get the grant (which is a lot of money) approved by Peace Corps. I am really pushing it with this one because I am getting so close to my leaving date, but I know I can pull it off. It’s really important to me and the group because it is going to teach them business skills of all sorts and how to make jam, juice, and tomato paste. All of which are products that are used a lot here, so they will be able to sell them for a profit and make money on their own without the financial support of me, the Peace Corps, or various NGOs. Our hope with Peace Corps and my Health Group is that they will be completely self-sustainable. This seminar will take place July 4-9 and will be my last project of my service.

July 20th I will be heading to Zanzibar for the last time (for now) for a bit of relaxing and mind-clearing. Then the 24th I will arrive in Dar for COS (Close of Service) July 25-27th. After that, I will leave the night of July 27th at about 2am and arrive in WA at 9:50pm July 28th. Unbelievable.

My mental state: In general, I am doing really well as usual. But lately I have had bouts of stress and bad moods, which I have pretty much gotten over now after some long hard thinking. However, preparing to leave here has got me all wigged out. I CANNOT believe that in just 7 weeks I will be saying goodbye to my village and in 8 weeks leaving Tanzania. I have been here for 2 years and I don’t want the time to be over yet. It’s so weird to think about how the first few blogs I wrote in my village, things were so hard and I couldn’t wait to come home when I finished but now it’s the opposite. I don’t want to leave here and I am nervous about coming home. I can’t wait to see my friends and family in the States, but it is also going to be really odd and so many things I don’t expect are going to be really challenging. Returning to America is going to be such a huge adjustment, just like coming here. And beside all that, if you throw on figuring out what I am going to do when I get home and for the next year before I start grad school…its stresses a girl out!! But I have taken some time to think about things and I am just going to calm down, focus on my last few weeks here and what I want to get out of them. Then deal with America and all that comes with it when I get back. All in all, I’m just taking it one day at a time. I mean really…it is not that big of a deal that I won’t be starting grad school until next year (it took me awhile to come to that realization). I will get to where I am going when I get there. And in the meantime, I will take my year off and do whatever it is I want because I can. I am in no rush to grow-up and settle down… hello, I still haven’t seen Southeast Asia!

Other lil’things:

- This blog is a mess just like me, no rhyme or reason, so outa order

- 53 days until I leave Tanzania

- I have read 55 books

- I have been here for 94 weeks

- I may have a mental breakdown leaving this beloved place

- But I am looking forward to my home-coming party when I get back to America…so you all better come!!

- This is not my last blog…you will hear from me again :)

- I will actually being seeing you all soon!

With love,

Jessica

April 15th

Evan arrived!! We (Evan, Nicole, Megan, and I) met up in Tanga and Evan and I HUGGED like we haven’t seen each-other in nearly 2 years!! It was wonderful and so weird to see him in the flesh; I was so happy to see my brother ;) First, we started out by sitting next to the ocean at a beautiful park next to the beach. From there, we went to the hostel and dropped off our stuff. We then headed to the grocery store for snacks and stuff; I stocked up on SO much food because I hadn’t had money or been to Tanga in forever. We also had to take him to get plates of fruit and fresh fruit juice because it is the greatest ‘restaurant’ ever. After finishing our errands, we returned to the hostel and had some drinks and hung out for a while. Thereafter, we went out to dinner at Raskazones which is the best Indian food in Tanga and we had a delicious meal. I can’t remember what we had but everything was so good and I hadn’t been there for so long I was excited to eat there again. After dinner, we returned to the hostel, hung out, and watched a movie…we were exhausted from the day and full of food. Perfect first day to the beginning of the great E & J Adventure.

April 16th

We began the morning with the fruit plate place again. We walked around Tanga, went to the market for fruits and vegetables, and bought traditional Muslim outfits to prepare for going to Pemba Island. After finishing up our Tanga activities, we got on a bus to go to the village. When we arrived at my house in the village, I introduced Evan to my Mama’s and they were so happy to meet him. All the kids also came over to meet him. For dinner, we made the best home-made tomato soup and grilled brie cheese sandwiches. They were incredible; I’m craving some right now! It was so fun because we made dinner outside; we took all our cooking ingredients and utensils outside and sat around the fire. The meal was also accompanied with a delicious beverage and half of the movie Bucket list. It was lovely night!

April 17th

Palm Sunday. My counterpart wanted us to attend church, so we went but we had forgotten that it was Palm Sunday so the service was extra-long. Though the service was a bit long it wasn’t that bad; I haven’t been going to church that often so it was nice to go again and everyone was super happy we came (had never been for Palm Sunday and we took pictures too). While we were at church, Megan arrived at my house and was hanging out when we got home and then soon after Nicole came over again too. It was great!! We hung out and I had the kids clean my house for cookies. We had invited 2 of my favorite students and 1 teacher over for an ‘American’ dinner. The 4 of us spend the afternoon making dinner and had so much fun. Not long before we finished making dinner, Tullo, John, and Editha arrived. We drank sodas, hung out, chatted, and enjoyed each other’s company while we finished making dinner. We made spaghetti, cooked carrots, green beans, and garlic bread. Again, so delicious!! It was the first time Tullo and John had eaten spaghetti and they loved it. They had been wanting to try it for so long and it was fun to have them over and see them so happy just hanging out with a bunch of Americans and eating spaghetti. After our guests left, the most random thing happened: Nicole and I made up a dance routine to a Lady Gaga song (yes, like we were 12 years old), haha. It was awesome! We also actually ended up taping it; so silly!

April 18th

We woke up, they girls left early to go back to their villages, and we had breakfast; not too early. Then we headed to the Secondary School to show Evan the school and because I had biology and a meeting with my FEMA Club. Everything went great at school. I returned my Biology Exams to my form 1 students and Evan sat in on my class while we went over the exam answers. After Biology, we met with my FEMA club. I just instructed them to be prepared to teach their health lessons after I return from my vacation/conference. On the way back from school, we stopped to have maandazi (‘donuts’) and tea. From there, we stopped by my house for a moment and then went to meet with my health group for a very short meeting. A few of the members met Evan and then just Evan and I left because they were going to continue the meeting without us to prepare for Evan’s official welcoming lunch the next day. We were home by mid-afternoon and constantly had visitor’s one right after the other, including the little kids coming over, so there wasn’t much time for rest. Just as it was becoming evening, we took a walk through my village, so Evan could see the village ‘night-life.’ When we were out we sat outside with one of my Mamas and her family; Evan tried a couple meat skewers (most likely goat) while I had 2 glasses of hot milk. Upon returning home, I’m pretty sure we finished watching Bucket List, crashed, and went to sleep after a long day.

April 19th

We slept in a little bit this morning and took our time leaving the house. We visited the Health Dispensary to say hello to the staff, but there was only one on duty that day. As we walked to the center of my village, we said hello to a few other villagers and then headed into town for lunch. We went to a place called Mkurumuzi to have pork, bananas, and beer. It was delicious. We made our way back to my village after lunch to meet up with my health group again for Evan’s official ‘welcoming’ lunch at 2pm. We were still full from our lunch earlier and eating was the first thing we did; we had to stuff ourselves full of rice, meat, and potatoes. After introductions and eating, the group secretary explained about the group a bit and we just chatted about America and Tanzania. The meet and greet was wonderful; short and simple but splendid. At home we again had visitors, so we played Frisbee with John, Tullo, and the kids. We had a fun time and the kids got a kick out of playing Frisbee. For dinner, Evan and I made pancakes and they were SO good. I have been meaning to make them since I have been here because they are so easy to make but I never had. I put honey with cinnamon on them and they were scrumptious. I don’t know why it took me so long to finally make them?!?!

April 20th

We left the village in the morning and went to Tanga, got fruit plate again and stocked up on necessities like snacks for our trip. We also used the internet to plan the first leg of our trip (make reservations, etc.) and then went to the airport to go to Pemba Island. We got to Pemba early evening, got to our hostel which was nice and put on our Muslim ‘outfits.’ We went out for dinner around 7pm and EVERYONE loved how we looked. All the locals complimented on how nice we looked and how appreciative they were that we were respecting their religion and culture by dressing appropriately. We had a typical Tanzanian dinner of chicken, fish, spiced rice, and vegetables. And it was amazing because as we were finishing our dinner the ‘Call to Prayer’ sounded from the Mosque and our dada (‘sister’/waitress) invited us to pray with her. So she put out a praying rug for us and we all prayed the evening Muslim prayer together. It was such an extraordinary experience!! In the evening, on the way back to our hostel, we walked around town and experienced a little Pemba ‘nightlife’ and ate some street food again, aka fried foods and I had hot milk again :)

April 21st

Our day started with free breakfast at the hostel and then packed up to roam around town and see where our next adventure would lead us. Well, it led us to rent a Vespa! We got a great deal but the stupid Vespa didn’t even have enough gas to get to the station so we had to get help and push it there to even start it, haha. Evan did all the driving and at first we had a few ALMOST ‘accidents.’ BUT don’t worry we were fine!!! After we got going and got out town we headed to the most north beach and it was easy riding. The ride was through beautiful lush island-ness; GORGEOUS. But we cant say we didn’t have a few lil’mishaps along the way…I can’t even explain it as well as I would like, but it was a HILARIOUS!! The best moment was when we were getting close to the beach the roads started to turn from dirt to sand, so we….well, kind of…..fell over a couple times. Un-hurt though!! When we got to Verani Beach, we checked into our hostel and were the only people there. It was perfect because we had the whole beach to ourselves. After another typical Tanzanian (yummy) dinner of rice, beans, and vegetables, we laid on home-made wooden lawn chairs and just talked, drank, and watched the sunset, sky, and stars. Perfectly lovely evening.

April 22nd

Breakfast first, then started our way back to town. We had to stop to get gas again but we made it to the gas station without trouble! YAY! It was the craziest and funniest ride back to town because we got stuck in a rainstorm and had to pull over to take cover under a tree. It was so funny how wet we got and what a mess we were HAHA. We eventually made it back to town, dropped off our luggage and tried to make it to some ruins via our Vespa before we had to return it but the roads there were so bad and we got lost; no one we asked knew how to get there, so we ended up turning back without seeing them. THEN, our Vespa broke down half way back and it took 4 hours for several passerby’s and the Vespa company to fix it and get us back to town. Oh geez. That short jaunt was quite an undertaking because we almost ‘died’ (NOT REALLY) a million times because of the road and the water (since it had just rained) and then it broke down. We had many laughs!! I’m giggling right now! Two seconds after getting back to the Vespa office and returning our vespa we had to jump on a bus to take us to the ferry docks about an hour south of town to make our ferry to Zanzibar the next morning. When we got to the ferry town, we got a hostel (Panorama Hotel) and got a great deal to stay there because it was the off season. It was beautiful; it was a great room, beds, HOT shower, had a view, and a balcony with a hammock. For dinner, we had street food and then went back to the hostel to hang out on the hammock and drink. That night we also got to talk to our Moms and Maile! YAY!

April 23rd

That morning was great because we were able to sleep in late in the most confortable beds and left about noon to catch our ferry to Zanzibar. Thankfully we were undercover while we were waiting for the ferry because it poured down rain, but it cleared up before we boarded and it didn’t rain while we were on the ferry. Got to Zanzibar safely around 5ish and went straight for coffee and internet. We had trouble leaving the café because we were so loving the coffee and free wireless internet. But eventually we had to walk around to find a place to stay for the night. We actually had trouble finding a place; we didn’t even think about it but it was busy for the Easter holiday. We eventually found a place; it was comfortable place and got a nice room. For dinner, we went to the famous gardens where there is a mass of street food, like seafood, local bread, soup, meat, Zanzibar pizza, wraps, sugarcane juice, etc. We spilt everything and ate so much de-lish food!! For a treat on the way home, we went to Mercury’s Restaurant to have a drink and to watch a band, but it was expensive and SO overcrowded with tourists that we didn’t stay long.

April 24th

Easter. We made it a ritual of starting our day with coffee and wireless at Zenji Café after breakfast. At 9am, we went on the Spice Tour which was so interesting. It was my second time going and I loved it; you learn so much about how spices are made, where they come from, and how they are used. I bought SO MANY spices and more ‘Chanel #5’ oil. We also visited the Persian Baths that were built in the 1840. At the conclusion of the tour, we had lunch where they used many of the spices described on the tour. The food was great, of course. After the tour, mid-afternoon, we got a taxi to take us to our hotel at the most northern tip of Zanzibar. The Amaan hotel was great (hello AC); big rooms, hot showers, nice beds, the works!!! The food at the hotel was expensive and touristy so we went outside the hotel to the ‘village’ and had a great Tanzanian meal made by a mama (she made the best cooked cabbage ever!) and hung out with Rastafarians. We had a fabulous time with the guys and took a bunch of pictures :) We didn’t stay out too late, went back to the room, and went to sleep so Evan could go diving in the morning.

April 25th

We slept through our alarm but Evan still made it to meet with his diving company and I got the free breakfast real fast before going over to meet up with him. I went on the boat with the group and worked on my tan (which was very successful) since I wasn’t a certified diver. The boat ride was fun and I got a great base tan (so important!). After we got back, Evan chatted with the diving guy and rested, while I continued to work on my tan until late afternoon. Thereafter, we got a late lunch at mama’s again and I picked up a beanie one of the Rastafarians made for me (Tanzanian colors). That evening we signed up for parasailing for the next day and then went to get dinner at a ‘touristy’ spot. Though frequented by tourists, the food was OUTSTANDING and right on the water. It was a gorgeous evening…I’m pretty sure Evan put up pictures of our food on FB. After dinner, we took a walk along the beach and called it a night.

April 26th

Can’t start a day without breakfast…such a good continental buffet free breakfast. Then we went parasailing. SO MUCH FUN!! It was like we were flying. I LOVE IT!!! After parasailing, we waited for a taxi (for way TOO LONG) to take us back to Stonetown. We stayed at the Zenji hotel and ate at the gardens again (to irresistibly delicious to eat anywhere else). We chatted with some Rastafarians again and then found our way to the Old Fort (aka very old castle). There is a restaurant inside and it was practically empty, but we had a couple drinks and played pool, just Evan and I; we had so much fun (but I lost both games, dang-it!).

April 27th

We didn’t plan this day very well, so it ended up being crazy. We went to a travel agency to get tickets to Arusha to go on a safari but the flights were earlier than we thought, so we had to hurry around Stonetown so Evan could see some of it and then we went to the airport to get on our plane just in time. When we got to Arusha, we easily found a place to stay which was great (Arusha’s Backpackers Hotel). But then we had to plan our safari for the very next day and it was already early evening. So in short …it was crazy and stressful but we finally got it planned, ate at our roof-top restaurant at our hotel (convenient and good food) and went to bed exhausted!

April 28th – April 30th

Got up in the morning for breakfast and got picked up for the safari at 9am. We used the same company as I did with my dad, which is a great and reliable company (Vitoria Expeditions). The first day we went to Arusha’s National Park, which I hadn’t been to yet. I really enjoyed this park and had a great safari driver/crew. That night we had dinner with our driver and cook/assistant. We had a really intriguing, fun, and light-hearted conversation over drinks and then went to sleep in our tent. The second day we went to Lake Manyara, had a great day seeing animals, and at the camp that night we saw the same performing group I did with my dad, but they had added routines. They were amazing and we have fun trying some of their tricks and dance moves with them and our driver and cook. Fun night! On the last day, we went to Ngorongoro Crater. We saw a bunch of animals and also paid to go into an actual Masai camp. It was extremely interesting and I learned a lot just by observing the culture (note: in my village the Masai is not well-liked). I was happy to see first-hand how they lived and worked. Overall, the parks were great, we saw a lot of animals, most of which I saw with my dad (so refer to that list in the earlier blog), but we also got to see the White & Black Columbus monkey at the Arusha National Park. They were SO CUTE and I was excited to see such a cool monkey I hadn’t seen before. That evening we stayed at the Arusha’s Backpackers Hotel again and went to sleep exhausted.

May 1st

Another day we did not plan well…or at all. We got up and had breakfast. We thought we could just get tickets from Arusha to Dar that day, thinking there was no way everything could be full. Well, we were wrong. Eventually, we ended up getting Evan on a one-way flight to Dar (there was nothing else availably for me) but he had to make his flight to America so got him on there ASAP. So we ended up having to split up in Arusha and say goodbye….a few hours earlier than we expected but at least he made his flight!! I, on the other hand, had a very trying, stressful, and exhausting day but eventually made it back to Dar that evening. And happily ran into a friend of mine, so we got a hostel together and got dinner. I was so happy I ran into him at the hostel because then I didn’t have to stay by myself, YAY!

End of the E & J Adventure.

May 2nd

My friend and I got up and went to the Peace Corps office to get work done before our conference the next day. Stayed there most of the day and got to our hotel where the conference was being held just before dinner.

May 3rd – May 5th

Stayed at the hotel for our COS Conference, which was great but weird. It was the last time I will see a lot of the people in my group. We hung out every night and had a swell time, especially the last night!!

May 6th – May 8th

Still in Dar. Friday I went back to the office to get work done and ‘clean’ my computer with no luck. It still has so many viruses, it’s practically useless and may become that way until I get home and go to BestBuy so the GeekSquad can rescue my computer…blah. I have also been trying to get my camera fixed because there is a ‘lens error.’ AKA the lens won’t come out, so that is why I still have not left Dar because some is working on my camera. I want (HAVE to be able to) take pictures of my last months in village/ of Peace Corps experience.

As of now:

- Everything is great, REALLY!

- But I am still really stressed out about:

o What I still have left to do in my village

o Whether or not to bring my 3 cats home

o Fixing my computer/hard-drive/flash-drive/camera/everything that could possibly contain a stupid virus

o And saying ‘Goodbye’ to my village…I don’t know how I am going to do this.

**2 MONTHS AND 19 DAYS UNTIL I BOARD A PLANE TO AMERICA**

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL MY FAVORITE MAMAS!!

XOXOXXOXOXOXO,

Jessica

I just read my last blog to see where I left off, which was right after I finished the Half Marathon and I realized I forgot to write my time!! How silly! That’s kind of important for a race haha! Anyhow, I did the half (13.1 miles) in 2 hours and 43 minutes. I know, it’s only about a 12.5 minute mile. But that’s OK, because I finished!! And of course, that means there is always room for improvement for my next one!

Since then…nothing really exciting…..

JUST KIDDING! I got my official COS date (Close of Service)!! I will be officially completing my Peace Corps Service July 27th! Crazy huh?!?! How’d the time pass that fast; 2 years; where’d they go?! So as of now, we have about 18 weeks until I am home! 3 months and 25 days until I am boarding a plane for America! Life is crazy!

Ok really now…as per usual in the village

School. I have no idea what’s going on with school! I have still been teaching at both the Secondary School and the Primary School, but they keep changing the schedules so I’m just going to keep teaching until someone tells me otherwise. Like Friday, my Secondary School decided to have a break this coming week. Then finals are moved up for the week after. Then we close again for Easter Break. Yet the posted schedule for breaks and finals is TOTALLY DIFFERENT than what we are doing. It’s so confusing. The primary school is for the most part staying on schedule but you never know. Last minute changes are not unusual. The weirdest thing is that (as of now) our long break will be mid-June to mid-July and when they open the school again in July, I won’t be teaching because I will be leaving within in the week. But it will be perfect timing for me to have the month off of school, so I can wrap up my projects, pack, clean, and get ready to leave!

Community Health Education Group. We are still going strong as usual. We hosted a cinema night in March. We had an NGO from town come in and put up a big screen and show educational shows. We’ve done in once before and it’s a big hit! The villagers love it and it gets a lot of people informed and watching educational (and entertaining movies). I also handed out condoms for free like they were party favors; everybody loves free condoms! I passed out 700!! Take that stigma!! Whoo hoo AIDS prevention!

Also, with my group. After I found out my date, I had to tell my group when I was leaving. Man, was that hard! When I stood up to speak I couldn’t even get out my first word before I started crying! It was so hard; I could barely control my tears or my words. I was a mess. After I said the date, they were all upset too. My mamas started to cry and the men were talking about how it was so soon. They have been trying (and are still trying) to talk me into staying another year (aka forever). They said I should visit America but come back :) They are so wonderful!! I can’t believe I will have to leave them soon and my whole village. It was one thing to say ‘Goodbye’ to my family in America before I left because I knew I would see them again and it wasn’t really ‘Goodbye’ but rather ‘See you later.’ But here, I may never see my family here again. It breaks my heart.

On a lighter note. My Health Dispensary Resource Center is coming together. I am just waiting on the carpenter to finish the book cabinet who is taking is SWEET time. It’s been about a month but it should be done within the week. Then I will have it dropped off at the Dispensary and put the books in it and we will have a little celebration for its official ‘opening.’ I am really excited about this because it has taken me my whole service to get enough book donations to put this thing together!

Grants. My grants to start an IGA (income generating activity) with my health group and a science laboratory for my secondary school are still pending. I hope they get approved soon…I’m running out of time!

My beloved Evan is coming to visit! He will be here in 13 days!! We are going to have so much fun; it’s going to be ridiculous! I can’t wait!! A little visit from home...just a few months before going home. NICE. Blogs and pictures TBP (to-be-posted…I just made that up; I’m smart).

Graduate school. I got rejected from South Dakota. They said I was just too cool for South Dakota, which of course I totally agree with but they still should have let me in!! Maybe I should have told them about ‘TBP.’ Oh well. As for Denver, I had my phone interview last Saturday March 26th. I think it went well and I will find out either way by April 15th. All this waiting is driving me crazy. I just want to know! (But I really hope I get in too). But if not, I will be on to Plan B (whatever that is…I’m thinking South America, anybody else?!?).

COS Conference. The first week of May (about 2 days after Evan leaves), I will be in Dar for a week for my COS Conference. It’s all about the transition of leaving Tanzania and going home to America. It’s going to be weird to see everyone; we are going to have a lot of fun. A lot of ‘We made it!’ celebrations. WHOO HOO.

My life as a crazy cat lady. So I have a dilemma. As of now I have 6 cats. I know…and stop judging. Ok, so Sparky’s 3 babies are going to be given away. Done. But I will still have Frik, Frak, and Sparky who have been with me for my 2 years here; they are my babies. I have been considering bringing them home with me (it’s possible and has been done by many volunteers). But I have 3 cats. And according to the airlines they will each need their own kennel. Putting them on the plane won’t be expensive but to buy or rent the kennels are pretty expensive. So the whole transport of 3 cats would be kind of pricey, a huge hassle, but I will have them home with me! They are my pets and I have become attached; I just can’t help it, I love them to pieces. I just can’t imagine abandoning them. So I don’t know what to do?!?! The volunteer replacing won’t arrive to my site until November and who knows if they will even like cats. So do I leave them here where they can run free, but they have to fend for themselves? OR do I bring them home to my (probably) apartment and continue to care for them as my best lil’buddies they have been? I am so lost. I just keep imagining them waiting at my door for me to let them in, but I’m not there. I could cry just thinking about it. I hate this; I wish it was an easier decision to make.

Life in general. I have been so busy in the village as usual. My schedule has been packed, which has always good. It keeps me on my toes and makes the time fly. I have also been sick for about a week and a half. I feel better, but I am still getting over it. It was nothing serious, just the flu or something. I slept A LOT every chance I got for the past week :) I am still running, but it’s getting harder with the rain. It gets so muddy! It’s incredible! But so far I haven’t had to change my run schedule too much. But I’m quite clumsy in the mud; I have already fallen twice and almost-fallen about a million times…oops.

Life is a box of Godiva chocolates. I can’t even begin to explain how weird it is preparing to leave here. What a HUGE chapter of my life and its coming to an end. I don’t know what I am going to do as the time to leave gets closer. I feel at home here now, which is so odd and crazy considering how hard it was in the beginning. I don’t want to say goodbye to my family, especially my Mama and my Counterpart and my students and everyone else. What a weird time it is. I will be leaving here; I still don’t believe it. I am going to be an emotional, sobbing, and full of sadness mess. BUT on the other hand I simply can’t wait to step off the plane in America and be home again, to see my family, and soak up everything the first world has to offer. Gosh, changes are great, but hard as hell.

Don’t forget to re-use and recycle! Help to save OUR planet NOW!

With love,

JRC

So last night I arrived in Moshi town around 7pm and met up with a bunch of my friends for dinner. PS: my bus took 7 hours instead of its normal 5 hours. It SUCKED! Anyhoo, I met up with my friends for Italian dinner and I had penne la prosciutto…a few carbs before the big race the next morning. After dinner, we went to our friend’s house and went straight to sleep around 10pm.

The next morning we had a cab pick us up at 6am to go to the stadium where the races were being held. When we got there we met up with other friends and warmed-up. The people who did the full marathon (crazy!) started at 6:30am. It was barely light our yet! Then the half marathon started at 7am. I wasn’t nervous at all…I knew I could do it!!

As the race started, I kept a good pace and just kept steady. The first half was the hardest because it was mostly uphill but I just kept running!!! I walked a tiny bit but that’s all!! I totally thought I would have to walk more but I didn’t! Then the second half was returning so it was more downhill, which was hard in its own way because it was on the pavement and going downhill; kinda hard on my knees. But I picked up my pace and didn’t stop to walk at all!

And then I saw the finish line in sight! And I was amazed! I picked it up even faster with my friends cheering me on and I finished!!! I did it! Me!! How crazy is that!?! And for finishing I got a t-shirt and a medal! I am so excited and proud of myself!

YAYAY!!

2 years in Tanzania. Travelling. Published author. Climbed Mt Kilimanjaro. Ran the Mt Kilimanjaro Half Marathon. And Graduate School potentially in the near future. LIFE IS GOOD!

Love, Jessica

Sauti za Busara (Sound of Wisdom) Zanzibar music festival……Simply unbelievable.

Wednesday morning I first went to teach English at the primary school. I may have not mentioned this in my last blog, but I am now teaching English at the primary school also. I teach the 7th grade and I love it!!! They are really fun and seem to pick up English fairly well so far. I teach Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. Then I go to continue teaching at the secondary school in the afternoon.

So after my 8am class, I went to my house, got my bag, and headed to town to go to Zanzibar that afternoon! I got to Zanzibar around 5pm. When I got in, I met my friends at the hostel and went out to dinner. There were so many of us, like 20 volunteers on the island. It was so cool!!

That first night we got dinner in the gardens and had Zanzibar pizza and sugarcane juice…so GOOD.

Then around 7pm we went into the Old Fort (really big, really old castle) where the festival was being held. The festival started every day at 5pm, so it was already going when we got in but the first bands are not as good as the ones that follow. When we got in we had so much fun…great music of all types and from all different countries, good company, dancing, drumming, and all sorts of instruments. We had an outstanding time!! That night, we stayed at the festival until the end and left to go to the hostel around 2am.

For the next few days of the festival we pretty much did the same thing every day, which was wake up around 10am, eat free breakfast at the hostel, go to the beach, swim/tan, get dinner, shower, go to the festival around 7pm, have crazy amounts of fun, and then go home around 2a -4a. Seriously tough schedule. Rinse and repeat.

The only deviation to this wonderful schedule was one day I went with a friend to The Slave Museum and the History Museum. Bothe museums were really interesting, especially The Slave Museum because it was so tough to think about what happened there. Later, we also did some shopping and ate Italian for dinner. I got all kinds of great stuff: a super cute ring, hat, paintings, a watercolor painting, Zanzibar spices, a hand-carved Zanzibar chest made out of mahogany wood (so beautiful!), a hand-carved frame made out of ebony wood, and a little hand-carved name plate with my name on it (that was actually a free gift from the designer!).

The last night of the festival was Sunday the 13th. Monday morning I did the usual and slept in and ate breakfast, but then had to pack and leave my wonderful island that afternoon…but we shall meet again :)

Now I am back in my village busy as ever and have already resumed teaching, organizing health clubs, and living village life as usual……

But to come…..

- Mt Kilimanjaro half marathon in less than 2 weeks.

- My dearest Evan is coming to visit in April!!!

- COS (Close of Service) conference is May 3rd. (This is when we will be choosing our COS dates to leave the country, which is going to be crazy because a lot of people want the same dates and only 4 people can COS per day…it’s going to be a battle haha)

- And finally July 18th I will be leaving here for America (if I get the date I want?!?!).

Exciting news!! I got offered an interview with University of Denver!! We will be conducting a phone interview March 26th, YAY. I haven’t heard from University of South Dakota yet, but it’s still really early. More info TBA.

Last thing and it’s random. I am now the new coach for the Secondary School’s Netball team. A bit of an explanation: Netball is similar to Basketball, but different rules and weird. I know what you are thinking; you’re thinking ‘how do you even know the rules are different when you don’t even know the rules of basketball and have never played the sport in your life.’ Haha, very true though. Well, the thing is that there is only one coach and he always coaches the boys (who play soccer) and forgets about the girls. So I am just helping them get in shape, conduct practices, encourage them to stay active in sports, and increase their self esteem. I have watched the sport a lot so I just focus on the moves they make and help them make them better and faster. Fun times.

Happy Valentine’s day, J

My suspicions were correct. Sparky was pregnant. And on January 4th she had 3 baby kittens. So, yes, that makes the total 6 cats. But don’t worry; I’m in the process of finding homes for them. I will not be the crazy cat lady with 6 cats; just the crazy cat lady with 3 cats haha. I also got the whole thing on tape. It’s a very interesting experience, especially when I am adding commentary and a play-by-play the entire time. It was kind of like watching National Geographic live. I must say, it was pretty cool.

My dad just visited!! The time came and went so fast, I couldn’t believe it! We had a great time; it was so much fun!

My dad got into Dar es Salaam in the morning of January 11th. I was so happy to see him!! Not gona lie, I cried a bit. It had been a year and a half since I had seen him after all. Right after he landed we jumped right onto another plane (a small little charter plane). We then landed in Arusha which is north near Mt Kilimanjaro and the border to Kenya. We got in about 11am and went straight to our hotel where we swam, rested, relaxed, ate pizza, and watched TV. That afternoon we also met with our Safari guide and made sure everything was set for the next day. Also since we were walk in guests to the hotel the manager gave us free dinner at the hotel. The hotel’s restaurant was super fancy, it was almost funny. Dad had chicken which he really liked and I had a delicious salad. I know, weird, I get a free dinner and I get a salad but you can’t find real-with-actual-lettuce salads here. It was so tasty. We had a very nice first day!!

Safari

The next morning we were picked up by our guide and headed towards our first destination, which was Lake Manyara National Park. It was awesome!!! We saw so many animals…even some rare ones. And some of the animals came right up against our car!!! Lions, elephants, giraffe, and baboons….right there!!! We were so lucky!! Talk about National Geographic Live!!! HELLO!!! While in the park we ate a packed cold lunch which was good. Then later that evening we arrived at the campsite and had a great dinner, rested, and there was even a performance which was so cool. I had not seen one like it before. They did acrobats, traditional dancing and drumming, and different tricks/acts with fire!!!

Here is a list of animals we saw in Lake Manyara National Park:

Blue monkey

Baboon

Cape buffalo

Warthog

Impala

Mongoose

Blue-ball monkey

Zebra

Hippo

Gazelle

Giraffe

Wildebeest

Crown cranes

Lion’s

Bushbuck

Crest Ginafold

Southern Ground Hornbill

Flamingo

Ostrich

Hammercop

Common Kookoo

Dickdick

Elephant

Helmet Ginafold

The second day of the safari, we got up and had big breakfast. Then we headed to Ngorongoro Crater. Here, we had another amazing day and saw SO MANY animals. It was absolutely amazing how many we saw and how close to the car they got!! After another great day of seeing animals and taking about a billion pictures, we went back to our campsite. We had dinner and there was another performance. YAY.

Here is what we saw at Ngorongoro Crater:

Baboon

Buffalo

Zebra

Wildebeest

Vulture

White stork

Lion

Hyena

Gazelle

Warthog

Antelope

Ostrich

Black Rhino

Silverback Jackal

Elephant

Gray Crown Crane

Thompson gazelle

Cheetah

On our last day we went to Tarangire National Park. It was a really pretty park, but we didn’t see as many cool animals like the first 2 days. Before here we had already seen 8 of the Big 9, plus a bunch of other animals. The only animal we didn’t see was the leopard because they don’t wander around a lot, especially during the day and they also stay up in the trees a lot. It was still a great day because we saw another lion….and a turtle! Since it was kind of a slow day in this park, we ate our lunch early and headed back to town. When we got to our hotel, we (again) rested, watched TV, relaxed, and hung out. We absolutely loved the safari!!

Here is what we saw in Tarangire National Park:

Warthog

Impalas

Secretary bird

Waterbuck antelope

Ostrich

Giraffe

Dickdick

Turtle

Elephant

Lion

Egyptian Geese

Dwarf Mongoose

Grown Hornbill

The following morning we took it slow, had the breakfast buffet at the hotel, which was SO YUMMY!! Gosh, I love American style breakfasts. Then we headed to the airport around noon. About 230p, we boarded our next charter plane to Zanzibar. We got there about 430p and when to our hostel. It was a great hostel…good breakfast, fancy homemade soaps, and close to everything. Our first stop after leaving the hotel was Mercury’s Restaurant (started by one of the guys in the band Queen). We walked around a while, saw the sights and looked at the shops and then that night we had dinner at an Italian restaurant. We had a delicious dinner and I got sorbet on a giant pile of fruit for dessert. My taste buds were very happy to say the least. We walked back to the hotel and looked at our safari pictures again. Then went to sleep to rest up for our Zanzibar adventure!

In the morning, we had a nice breakfast and headed out into town. We met with our tour group around 9a. After everyone arrived, we boarded the boat and set sail on our tour of the islands. I was absolutely fantastic! First let me make a note: the day before when we planned this trip with the tour company. He said the trip we wanted was going on the following day. Perfect. But then he asked us ‘Do you guys like Italians?’ Odd question we thought, but apparently he has to ask because other tourists don’t like to go on tours with a huge group of Italians because they are loud, smoke, drink, and all. I, of course, said that it was no problem at all because they are my people :) Needless to say we had a fantastic day!! They fed us non-stop seafood, fruit, and beer. We stopped at a sandbar to swim and Prison Island to see ruins and HUGE TURTLES!! If you haven’t looked on FB yet, go look…they are so big and some were around 180 years old!! There was also a little band on board comprised of 3 older fellas, hence they named there group Baba Tatu (3 Grandfathers). I danced a bit. After we got back to the mainland, we showered, relaxed and then went to get Zanzibar pizza and the local outdoor food market in the gardens.

They next day we headed out after breakfast and went to the east side of the Island. We didn’t like the hostel that we had booked so we stayed at their ‘sister hostel’ next door which was much better. After we got settled, we laid on the beach, by the pool, drank homemade juice, and later on had dinner at the restaurant. The next day we did nothing with our lives but lay in the sun, swim, eat, nap, and read. It was so relaxing!! And it was my birthday!! Perfect 26th birthday ever!! I had the beach, the sun, good food, AND MY DAD!!!

We did the exact same things the next day until noon then we were off to depart again. This time for Tanga…and my village!

When we arrived in Tanga, I took my dad to my favorite fruit place to share a plate of fruit and pineapple and avocado juice. YUM! Next, we stopped at my favorite store to pick some food and snacks. After finishing up, we went to my village. We got there at about 6p and were happily greeted by my Mama and all my kids. My milk man also stopped by to say hello and bring milk, of course. We had a nice evening in the village and went to sleep early.

For our first full day in the village we went to say hello and had a meet and greet with my health group. We drank soda, ate cookies, made a few speeches, and they presented my dad with a couple gifts which he loved. We had the best time! Then we went to my Secondary school. My dad met the teachers, students, he said a few words to the students, we walked around the school, and showed him the classrooms. Good times. That afternoon, we rest because it was a million degrees out. We also had about a million visitors too. They kept rolling by until 7p. At some point we also went to my milkman’s house, so my dad could meet all of his family. My dad and the milkman became quick friends :)

The second day in the village, my group and I had our World AIDS Day Event. It went off without a hitch (not including it starting late…but that’s the usual). They day turned out great!! I was SO HAPPY to have my dad there to see the whole event and little bit of what I do. It was a long day, but an absolute great one!

The next morning, we said our goodbyes in the village and left for Dar. We took a bus, which isn’t the funnest thing in the world, but it wasn’t a bad ride either. That night we had dinner at the hotel, relaxed, and watched movies. As far as last nights with your dad for a while, it was nice! We had fun just hanging out! Then early in the morning, I had to say ‘goodbye for now’ to my dad and he left for the airport. This was my least favorite part of the whole trip!!

All in all, my dad’s visit was amazing! I am so glad that he visited!!

Summary….

- Favorite parts of the trip: EVERYTHING.

- Least favorite parts of the trip: not seeing a leopard, not seeing a lion (or cheetah) chase, attack, kill, and eat something, and saying goodbye to my dad.

- I have read 48 books to date.

- I should be home in about 5 months and 3 weeks!! We get to choose our date to go home in May….I hope I get the date I want!!

- Sparky’s babies crawled out of their box today for the first time! They grow up so fast…they are off into the big ‘ol world.

- Getting back into running after a 10 day hiatus….hard.

- It has been consistently about 95 degrees every day. Naps are now very necessary for survival.

Much love, J

This is just a quickie of a blog because January is going to busy and I don’t want to forget anything!

Christmas Eve….

I had the best time!! My 2 girlfriends (Megan and Nicole) from my region came to my village and hung out with my counterpart Joyce and her family. We went to family’s house Christmas Eve and had a wonderful time just hanging out and making mandazi (donut like goodness). We helped to make, need, and roll the dough. It was super fun and chill! Then we had beans, mandazi, and tea for a late night snack. Then we had music playing and had a dance party in the living room and on the porch. It was so fun dancing with everyone! We had a blast and so many people showed up and stopped by. FUN!

Christmas Day….

We got up in the morning and had mandazi and tea for breakfast and got ready for Church. We went to church in my village (her family’s village and my village neighbor each other). At church there was a lot of sitting and staring off into space. But then they auctioned off a couple things to raise money for the church and I bid on a handmade wooden chair…and I got it!! It was only about 4 dollars haha. It’s super cool! After church, we went back to the family’s house and laid around outside and rested. We then ate a huge delicious lunch of rice, spiced rice, beans, meat, cabbage, and tea. I was so full as usual. I think after lunch we took a much needed nap and relaxed. After we woke up, we hung outside with the family, and had a few beers with some other friends and family members who came by. Later that night, we had other dance party and set up the TV outside. They also put a couch outside for us to sit on and we watched Tanzanian music videos and a movie. But about half through the movie, we went to bed. We were exhausted!!

Day after Christmas….

We woke up and went back to our usual spot on the mats outside and laid around, hung out, and relaxed. For most of the morning and early afternoon, my girlfriends and I played random games…dozens of games from when we were kids to games like charades haha. It was SO FUN! At the same time, we hung out with the family, they made us brunch of rice, mangos, and other food I can’t remember, and then they made us a snack/lunch of French fries and soda. I was so full of fried food, starches, and sugar BLAH…but it was yummy. Midafternoon we went back to my village and stayed at my house for the night. We just chilled out and had top-romon for dinner and watched random TV shows on my computer. The next day, we got up and went to town for the usual…bank, post office, and grocery shopping, etc.

New Year’s Eve….

This time, Megan and I went to Nicole’s house. We arrived late afternoon and we hung out eating some snacks and watching TV shows on the computer again (yes, it’s one of our fav things to do haha). In the early evening one of my “sister’s” who lives in her village came to get us for dinner. We went to her family’s house and ate rice, spinach, and fish. To drink, we had one glass (it’s strong!!) of the local coconut alcohol. Not long after that, we went to another house to visit people. We were again served dinner; this time we had chipsi mayai (omelet with French fries in it) and beer. We also had a Popsicle which was so refreshing because, as always, it was so hot! After that family, we hit up another invitation to visit people and hung out with some other people. We drank some more beer….and we’re seriously full at this point (2 dinners and beer back-to-back!). About 9pm, we went back to Nicole’s house and rested to get ready for midnight. We were stuffed and exhausted, so we (again) watched TV shows. At close to 11:30pm we went back to my “sister’s” house. From there, we all went together to the village center for the New Year’s Celebration!! We had a blast!! There was drumming and dancing. I danced so much and got so sweaty haha…there were so many people, a fire at the center (to tighten the skin of the drums), and lots of dancing. It was awesome!!! Eventually, around 2am we went back to the house and crashed…slept like a baby.

New Year’s Day….

The next morning we got up and went to town. We dropped off out stuff and our hostel and went straight to the ‘fancy hotel.’ There we had the full buffet breakfast of toast, cereal, cold mild, fruit, yogurt, eggs, and sausage for 5 dollars. YUMMY. Then we headed straight to the pool. We slept, relaxed, sunbathed, swam, and read. Late afternoon, we went to a usual spot and got a plate of fresh fruit and homemade fruit juice. After the snack, we went back to our hostel to relax and watch a movie (man…we do that a lot haha). About 7pm, we went to the pizzeria and had salad (SO GOOD) and pizza! De-lish!! When we got back to the hostel we barely made until 10pm because we were so exhausted and sun-drained. I slept SO long and SO well :) I love sleeping in town….no farm animals, kids, or mamas to wake you up early. The next day we got fruit again, stopped at the market, got lunch to go, and went home.

Blogs to come in January….

- DAD’S VISIT

- World AIDS Day Event

Much love, J

Well, I have got nothing to say that tops my last blog….no mountains, no publications. Just the usual :)

But this time, I am going to put things in chronological order. Let’s see what happens…

Since I got back to my village after climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, I have been crazy busy. I feel like say that in every blog but it is what it is. When I first got back to my village, my secondary school had their final examinations. The exams went as well as normal with most of them failing, but I did have a few shinning students who actually prepared and didn’t do too bad. We also had a meeting to recap the past year. This meeting went fine except for both the teachers and students drove me absolutely insane. The educational system is defiantly one of those areas were American and Tanzanian perspectives on how things should be done completely CLASH. I also had an allergy / sneezing attack during the meeting so I had to excuse myself a couple times because I had snot all over the place. Fun times.

Also during the last weeks of school I met the other volunteers in my village in town for a going away party, which consisted of the usual fruit place, Indian restaurant, and a few cocktails including champagne to celebrate. The two volunteers who were in my area finished their 3-year service at the end of November and have already left the country. It was so weird to say goodbye to them and not to have them around anymore! They were both here when I arrived and been here my entire service. That means that I am now the volunteer who has been here the longest in my area, which is even weirder!! One of the volunteers was replaced with a new education volunteer. She is super cool and I really enjoy hanging out with her!

The morning after the going away party I had to rush home quickly because my boss came for a site visit. There’s nothing to report on; we didn’t do much. He just came to make sure I’m working and that everything is all peace and love and I don’t have any troubles. We chatted for a bit, visited the school, and then he left.

A few days later for Thanksgiving, I met up with the other volunteers in my area again. It was at the new education volunteer’s house and we made a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. We made smashed potatoes, vegetables, and homemade stuffing. And the neighbors cooked us a chicken!! The meal was so good and as per Thanksgiving traditions we ate way too much :) For dessert we made fudge!! IT WAS SO GOOD!! I ate a lot, then ate for breakfast, and then took some home with me to eat more. Yummy.

So after exams, grading, site visits, old volunteers leaving, new volunteers arriving, going away parties, and holidays…thankfully, the school closed. It will be closed from December 3rd until January 17th. This is absolutely great and the break was very much needed because school was seriously getting on my nerves and it was certainly affecting my teaching. To be honest, I have kind of been hibernating in my house getting work done and only leaving to go for runs and to go to my Community Health Group meetings twice a week. I’ve just need a little break from my villagers. This actually is pretty easy to do right now because I forgot how dead my village is in December. A lot of my students, teachers, and villagers leave the village to visit their family in other regions for the holiday. It is also a million degrees right now. We are going into our hottest season of the year and it’s especially brutal because we completely skipped our rainy season in October and November. So again, if people are here, they’re hiding in their houses to avoid the sun too. Oh, and there is a lot of napping going on too because it’s so darn hot!!

Anyhoo, during my break from school I have a lot of work on my plate right now and I have been using the extra time to be SUPER productive (in between naps of course). I am getting so much stuff done; it’s awesome!! I love getting those things that are on your to-do list forever finally done and checked off. Most importantly, I have already finished my UD application and it’s all submitted. And I just finished my last essay for USD, so I have everything done and I am going to email it in tomorrow! DONE AND DONE!

As most of you know, World AIDS Day is December 1st and that my group and I had been planning another big education day event like we did in July. But Peace Corps WADC was not able to get us our grant money that was supposed to be used for the event prior to December 1st. this initially seriously irritated me and put a slight dent in our planning but it actually worked out for the best because now we are going to do it in January when my dad is here!! So he will be able to be a part of one of my big events and see what I do! YAYAYAY!

Jumping into the future a bit. Christmas is this weekend and I am going to spend it with my 2 nearby volunteers, my counterpart Joyce, and her family. It should be fun and I will give you guys all the deets in the next blog.

Facts, stats, and garble:

- MY DAD WILL BE HERE IN 20 DAYS!!!!

- Don’t expect another blog until the end of January.

- While I was taking a nap the other day on my couch I chicken came in my back door and pooped twice in my house and then jumped onto my back and woke me up. I hate chickens.

- I think Sparky is pregnant and I don’t know what to do. I finally found the one and only veterinarian in Tanga to get her fixed and now I think it’s too late. And to add insult to injury the veterinarian decided to go on a holiday the day after I found his office. More info TBA.

- As of December 19, 2010 I will be home in exactly 7 months.

- As of the New Year, I will be able to say ‘I am coming home this year!’

- I don’t know if I will have the vacation time or money to hop over to Uganda to raft the Nile. But I’m certainly going to try my hardest to make it happen!

- I got the Journal I was published in…it was so cool to see my name in print! Bitchin!

- I also got the J.Crew catalog in the mail (from my momma of course). ‘All I want for Christmas is….a spa day, clean hair, and new cloths…falalalala.’

- Half marathon training is going super well!

- I am going to be 26 years old in 28 days! WHAT?!

- I am on my 44th book in 19 months.

Much love and prayers to you all for the holiday season!

Jessie

Ok, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty!

First first!!

I am officially published!! For reals guys!! Yes, after all this time and work, I am finally in print! I can’t believe it! A quick re-cap from ground zero to being published….

It all started one day soon after spring semester started in my junior year at Chapman. I walked into Dr. Shears’ office and proposed the idea that I wanted to do an empirical study. From there….it can only be described as pure chaos and can only be understood by a few, particularly my girlfriends from psychology, aka my fellow ‘lab rats.’ During such time, after many long days in the lab, countless hours of research, hypotheses, late nights, journal articles, grant writing, DirectRT, programming, stress, hundreds of participants, paperwork, hours in the lab, coffee, writing, SPSS, pep talks in Shears’ office, college graduation, follow-up experiments, editing, more editing, presentations, journal submissions, and 5 years later, I am a published author. WHOO HOO!!

If anyone wants to check it out, it is in the current fall issue of Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research. I will put the reference up soon, so it will be easier to find.

Second first!!

I CLIMBED MT KILIMANJARO!!!

As you know, my friends came to visit me! We had such a wonderful time; I was so happy that they came to visit. We had decided to meet up at the Post Office in Tanga. It was so fun when Lindsey and I first spotted each other from across the street because we ran like crazy and landed into one big bear hug! We were so funny because we just kept saying ‘lets hug again!’ and we would :)

In Tanga, we got fruit, went to the grocery store to get food and snacks, went to the market, and ran a few errands. Then we headed to my friends house to stay with 2 other volunteers for Halloween weekend. We had a great lazy time. All afternoon we just sat around, hung-out and chatted. Then for dinner I made pasta primavera and I must say that it was quite delicious!! I had never made it before in this country but it turned out yummy. And Sarah made a pumpkin pie which was also super delish, which we ate while watching a movie. All in all, we had a very nice Halloween.

The next day Lindsey and Paul came to my village with me; I love having visitors!! We arrived in my village on Sunday and they stayed for 5 nights….they’re troopers!! They had no troubles with village life and we had a wonderful time. During the week they went to my biology classes, met with my health group, had lunch with my health group, walked around my village, visited the health dispensary, the primary schools, and were warmly welcomed by all my mamas. In between the village activities we relaxed at my house making lots of scrambled eggs and crepes for dinner. We also watched (on their computer) the 3 Twilight series movies!!!! I hadn’t seen them and I was so excited!! I loved them and I’m going to have to wait until I return to America for the 4th to come out, dang it!

On Friday we left to go to Moshi and Mt Kilimanjaro. We arrived in Moshi Town in the afternoon, got lunch, and met up with our guide who was going to take us up the mountain the following day. With our guide, we walked around Moshi to get stuff we would need for our expedition, like food and supplies. After finishing, we ate dinner in town and went to my friend’s house to spend the night, sleep, and get prepared for our adventure.

Day 1. Saturday morning, we got up, readied ourselves for our expedition, had cereal (with COLD milk) for breakfast, and headed out. We met our guide near the house and got picked up around 10am. Thereafter we headed to the mountain. After arriving we registered to climb/enter the park and paid the OUTRAGOUS fees. We met with our guide, his team, and porters who would be climbing with us. In total, we had the 3 of us, our guide, 2 assistant guides, and 7 porters. After going over routes, rules and regulations we started our climb!!! For the first day we climbed about 4 hours, reaching 9900 feet (starting at 5900 feet). The hike was fairly simple; we were able to hike at a good pace and get to our camp at a good time. However, around the base of the mountain there is a lot of vegetation and it is a rainforest, so it RAINED A LOT. We were completely drenched (including our bags) by the time we made it to our camp. But we didn’t let that get us down!! We did our best with what was dry and tried to dry some of the necessary things with water bottles filled hot water. We ate dinner (fish, french fries, veggies, fruit, and tea…our cook was really good) and went to sleep in our tent. First day hiking Mt Kili…DONE.

Day 2. The next morning we were incredibly lucky to have the sun shining with no rain. So we quickly put a bunch of our stuff out to dry, which saved us immensely! Note to self: you cannot climb mountains with all wet cloths. Then we started our second day hike which took about 5 hours, ascending to 11,500 feet. The hike was good and challenging but doable!

Day 3. The morning of our 3rd day we awoke to a nice crisp cold day, but again no rain YAY. We hiked for about 6 hours and ascended to 15,000 feet. Though we reached 15,000 feet we descended back to 12,800 feet to camp and sleep. We went up to get acclimated to the elevation but came down to sleep at a lower elevation which is better. The third day hike was marvelous!! It just got more challenging and colder the farther we went, but we had a great time. Hiking is one heck of a workout!!! When we got to our next camp site we ate, changed cloths, and rested, as usual.

Day 4. The fourth day was a kick in the pants!! It was our hardest day yet because we climbed for 7 hours to get to our next camp site and it was the most challenging route up until that point. We ascended to 15,800 feet and reached our camp site about mid afternoon. For the afternoon we rested the best we could while being sick (we were defiantly feeling the effects of altitude sickness at this point) and with it being so cold. About 15 minutes after arriving at our campsite it started to snow!! Snow in Tanzania, crazy! Over the course of the afternoon/evening we huddled in our tent while it continued to snow about an inch!! It was soooo cold….I was shivering quite a bit! In the evening, we got prepared to summit that night. To prepare we got in our hiking cloths, ate dinner, tried to warm-up, and went to bed early to (try to) sleep. Then our guides woke us up at 11pm for tea and cookies. We then went over the plan for the night and started hiking our way to the summit! We started our hike at midnight so we could reach the top of the summit at sunrise. We had our guides, walking sticks, and headlamps and started the rigorous climb to the top!! It was one of the most challenging and difficult, yet extraordinary experiences of my life. It was insane feeling sick from altitude and tired from lack of sleep but still continuing to climb a mountain in the dark and below freezing temperatures.

Night of Day 4/ Day 5. As dawn was breaking we reached the top of the summit!!! Good morning day 5!!! It was astonishingly beautiful!! I can’t even explain how gorgeous the view was; it was unbelievable. From the top we saw the city at the base and just how far we had climbed. And you are above the clouds, so when looking out we could see a beautiful sea of clouds. It was AMAZING!! We took lost of pictures and walked up to the highest peak of the mountain. We were at 19,000 feet!! NUTS!! And it was sooo cold…about 40 below…I thought I was going to lose my toes haha.

At about 7am we started to climb down. Descending is the least exciting part. We came down a different trail, but we were tired and had already reached the top, so it does not hold the same excitement as going up. We also descended at a rapid pace to feel better at a lower elevation. Normally on the 5th day after summit-ing, you would descend to a camp site a few hours short of the end, camp, and finish descending on the 6th day. But we decided that since we arrived at our campsite within good time, we would just keep going. So after 7 hours hiking, a short nap, another 7 hours hiking to the summit, and 6 hiking down the mountain, we decided we would just keep going the last 3 hours down the mountain to the end. So that’s exactly what we did!! We descended close to 13,000 feet in one day…talk about crazy!!

Still Day 5. We reached the bottom of the mountain at 4:30pm. We grabbed our bags, paid our guides/porters, signed out, and headed to dinner of burgers and fries. After getting back to my friends house, we showered, ate ice-cream, and went to sleep for 10 hours. Aaahhh sleep…a beautiful thing.

Day 6. We woke up and did nothing all day. We were EXTREMLY SORE! And not from the actually hiking up, but mostly from hiking straight down the mountain all in one day….our calves and thighs felt it for sure! All day, I read, ate, wrote this blog, played on the internet, napped, and walked to the fridge for juice and water which is actually a lot harder than it sounds when your legs are SO SORE. Haha.

Here are some mountain facts….

- Mt Kilimanjaro is 5895 meters tall (19,000 feet!!!)

- It’s the tallest free-standing mountain in the world

- While climbing you go through extreme weather changes due to the elevation: tropical/rainforest, desert, and snow.

And that sums up my Mt Kilimanjaro expedition!

With love,

Jessie

This actually happened in the end of October, but I didn’t want to include it with the fun stuff.

As I told you guys a few months ago, I helped a student prepare and submit an application to travel to America for a 3-week Leadership program. Well, a couple weeks ago I got an email of the selected students and my student was not on that list. I read it a dozen times just to make sure but he was not selected. It broke my heart. There have only been a few other times in my life when I have ever been this sad. I cried a lot and couldn’t stop. I wanted it so bad. I wanted it more than anything. This kid deserved it and this was most likely the only chance he will ever get to visit America. For a few days, I couldn’t even bring myself to say it out loud, let alone tell him. I didn’t want to accept that he didn’t get in. But Monday rolled around and I had to tell him that he wasn’t chosen. I pulled him out of class to meet with me and the Headmaster just like I did when I initially told him about the program. At first I don’t think he believed what I was saying or maybe, just like me, didn’t want to believe it. It was absolutely horrible. I cried, he cried. It was awful. Never in my life have I had to tell a kid that his dreams were not going to come true. I broke his heart in that moment I told him and it killed me. Thankfully, my friends were there for me so I got lots of hugs and support. When I left school that day, I felt defeated and helpless. I left my student with his friends. He couldn’t return to class because he was so upset. Later that evening, he stopped by my house. We chatted about what happened and I told him I would do my best to help him find another program to apply to or something, anything. He said that he wasn’t able to return to class the rest of the day because he was so upset and that he hadn’t gone home yet because he didn’t want to tell his dad who was doing to be so disappointed, sad, and upset. He didn’t want to break the news to his dad. My student often talks about how his whole family depends on him to be successful and how visiting America would be a huge step in reaching his goals. But he isn’t going, not now. And I am not sure when or if he will ever be able to go, but I have less than 9 months to try to find a way.

The end.

Another month almost done. Time…it baffles me!

It’s been a busy time since I last wrote. I can’t believe how full my days are and how endless my to-do lists are…I thought village life was supposed to be leisurely and slow-paced?!?! Well, not here, not for me! I’m as busy as ever and LOVIN’ it!

Here is what is keeping me busy and sleepy at times:

School: Teaching is going as usual. It’s a love/hate relationship. We have had some major things happen over the past month.

- We have had a lack of teachers because the school doesn’t have any money. Just to clarify, the school has only 2 teachers and 1 Headmaster and me for 350 students…not good. There were also some High School graduates (HS is after Secondary School and before college) volunteering to teach at our school which is common. However, since the school has a lack of money to pay the teachers, the Headmaster told the teachers to stay home because they weren’t getting paid for working. Therefore, for the past month it has only been me, the Headmaster, and 350 students. Beyond nuts.

- The school in my village is new; it’s only 4 years old. So, we just had our first graduation. That was a big deal and we had so much fun!! There was dancing and drumming, food, skits, and of course boring‘ol speeches. It wasn’t too hot which was good, but it did rain a bit which caused some chaos. I have a lot of pictures which I will try to get up on FB soon and also some videos of the drumming and dancing!!

- We done had Form 4 National Exams…that was a crazy time, especially since we were short on teachers.

- The 2 teachers have come back and are trying to work out the no-money crisis/situation with the headmaster.

- I have also started a health club at the schools…it’s still under development. I will keep you posted on its progress.

- Not so good news….about a month ago one of my students died. She was about 17; a form 3 student. I had taught her health when I first began teaching. She died from pregnancy complications brought on my being so young. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. It was a hard time at school then. I didn’t realize how much it affected me until I went to her funeral. It was pretty much awful with the whole community, all the students, teachers, and her mother who was obviously devastated. It was a terribly sad time. It also makes you think about what we (PC volunteers) are doing here; a lot of questions stirred in my head; I felt defeated. I had taught her about HIV/AIDS, using condoms, and abstinence for months. And then this happened. I know I can’t help/save everyone, but I wish I could. Brightside: I am hoping she will able to meet my Grandpa and Grandma Pace, Grandpa John, and Uncle Jeff in heaven. That would be nice.

Back to the positive side of life….

My community health group is rockin'! We have certainly kept ourselves busy and I see no signs of us slowing down. As you know, we did a HIV/AIDS education day in July. That went perfectly! Since then we have continued learning about good nutrition to then go out into the village to teach. We also went to a nearby village to teach Secondary School teachers and students about HIV/AIDS. It was at a conference other volunteers hosted. That also went incredibly well and we got a lot of compliments of how knowledgeable and professional my group is, YAY. Now, we are planning for the next World AIDS Day December 1st. We actually plan to do 2 events, one in town and one in my village. We have been doing such a great job the district office in Muheza Town want us to do an event there too. Lastly, we are still planning to do our income generating project as soon as the funding comes in from Peace Corps. BUSY BUSY.

My friends are coming to visit!!! They have already arrived in Tanzania!! They have been traveling the world since April and have come to TZ. I will see them the beginning of November when they visit my village and then we will go up north to climb Mt Kili!! I am so excited!!

Future conversation to be held with the Mt:

Me: Hello Mt Kilimanjaro

Mt Kili: Hello Jessie, How are you?

Me: Great! I’m going to climb you right now!

Mt Kili: HAHA Good luck, I’m the biggest bad-est, tallest mountain EVER!!

Me: I don’t care! I’m gona do it! And I’m gona kick you in the face! HA!

At least that’s how the conversation goes in my head :)

I am at the point in this blog that I am getting writers block. I know more has happened but I can’t think of things at the moment, so if things get silly from here on out…oh well!

I’m in Dar es Salaam right now for a PSDN meeting tomorrow. I am staying with an ex-pat. I never get tired of staying with ex-pats….hot showers, big houses, AC, fridges, comfortable beds, washer (and this time even a DRYER), electricity….it’s just all so posh! I love it!

I am still plugging away at my graduate school applications. They are coming along at a nice pace, but I always get hung up on the essays. Essays are the most annoying part of the apps…but I’m thankful to have electricity this weekend so I can keep the ball rolling and get a lot of work done. Slight update: I am still applying to the MA in International Disaster Psychology at University of Denver. But I am not applying The Chicago School of Professional Psychology anymore because I overlooked the slight detail that you have to have your masters to be eligible to apply. Oops. However, now I have decided to apply to the University of South Dakota….I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING!! I was thinking the same thing…South Dakota?! What?! Heck no?! The thing is …. Is my program is not offered at many schools. I have always known about the program at USD but never considered it because well, it’s in in South Dakota. But I don’t want to apply to only one school, so I have decided to apply. The funny thing is that is actually the BEST university for Disaster Psychology, it’s a PhD program, and is actually HIGHLY selective. Who knew?!? South Dakota University?!?

Why South Dakota won’t be that bad (if on the slight chance that I actually get in…which to be honest is highly unlikely):

- It will be only 5 years.

- I will be in the best Disaster Psychology program in the country!

- It’s not any further from WA then Colorado is, so I can still visit home a lot.

- Rent will be CHEAP.

- There is nothing to do, so I can focus on my PhD.

- It will be a nice calm, rural-ish, pretty environment after returning to the US coming from a Tanzanian village. I mean, could you imagine me going back to the OC…I would be seriously flustered and confused.

- It’s next to Montana, so I am assuming they have cowboys too.

See! I don’t know what I didn’t consider SD before?!

Christmas…you guys know I’m not coming home for the big day….but what should I do with those extra vacation days??? How about….RAFT THE NILE RIVER!! Yep, I’m gona make it happen!

I’m still running and it’s going great!! I am really coming along. And my new running shoes should be here soon to save my feet from the destroyed thing I’m currently wearing.

Since we are on the health/fitness topic, let me share some information about some comments I have had on my appearance. First, some history: when I got to this country I weighed 176 pounds; now I weigh 163. And I have been running, so I am feeling great! Back to now: Regardless of these facts, I have been told I am fat 3 TIMES in the past couple weeks. (Ok truth be told…here in Tz, to be told your fat is a compliment….but still!). Also, on 2 outa 3 of the occasions I was wearing the same flow-y white shirt…first thought upon receiving the comments, ‘I am never wearing this shirt again!’ HOWEVER, I have also been told by 2 different students that I look like Shakira and Jessica Simpson. Seriously?! So in summary…I think it would be safe to assume everyone is crazy here or that I look like a chubby Jessica Simpson with big curly hair.

Facts, stats, and all the good stuff:

- Here are 2 new games I like to play with myself….First: I like to see how long I can go without washing my hair. The other day I couldn’t remember the last time I washed it so I think that’s my best score so far (I also found a couple ants in my hair, so I thought it was a good day for a hot ‘bucket bath’ and wash my hair. Second game: I like to see just how little of water I can use to bathe. Fun times! And don’t worry, when I return to the states I will surely discontinue these games, as I will not have to carry all the water I use on my head.

- I have read 40 books…just started my 41st.

- I will be returning to America in 9ish + a couple weeks!!! WHAT! HECK YAY!

- I have realized just how attached I have become to this place, my village, my villagers, my mamas, groups, students, everyone and everything. It’s going to be very hard and an emotional departure.

- But it still can’t wait to return home to all of you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- MY DAD IS VISITING IN 2.5 MONTHS!! WHOO HOO!

- Write me a letter…because I really like getting them and I haven’t been getting as many lately!

- I didn’t proofread this blog again…forgive me.

- I’m doing to go for a run and then maybe stop at the ‘big’ grocery store and just look at all its glory-ness and think of all the things I can’t buy on my crappy Peace Corps budget.

With love from around the world,

Jessie

I hope it hasn’t been too long since I last wrote. I have no concept of time anymore!

I don’t remember when this happened but one night I heard a noise outside my back door. It was late but not super late. I wasn’t scared because whatever the noise was I knew it couldn’t be a person; it was a weird sound like something being rummaged through. My cats were outside that night so I thought the noise might be coming from them. The noise continue for several minutes so I got curious what they were up to or maybe to see if it was some other animal. To feed my curiosity, I opened my back door and look around with my flash light. I didn’t see anything at first and then I saw something, but I wasn’t sure quite what it was. When my eyes focused, I realized it was a furry little cat with a can on his head!! This cat was the one making all that noise because he was trying to get his head unstuck. Note: the can came from me unfortunately….I had bought a can of cat food for my cats and I normally set the can outside so it wouldn’t attract ants inside my house before I had time to wash it out. The cute little guy must have tried to lick what was left inside the can and then got stuck!! It was the funniest, oddest, and kind of sad to see this cat so helpless and scared. He was just sitting there upright, looking at me (or actually in my direction, since he couldn’t see cuz his head was stuck in a can). I don’t know why but I looked around as if someone else was going to be around in my backyard at night to help me, but there was just me and the ‘cat in the can’. For a moment I pondered what to do and how to help him…he looked pretty stuck. After a short moment, I walked over to him, and he back away because he didn’t know what I was and couldn’t run away (because he couldn’t see). I got closer to him and grab the can. It took some good pulls and maneuvering but I finally got the can off the little guys head and he ran away. Then I went back to bed.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

So you know what I am not a big fan of?? Running. But regardless, my training is going well. I am still going to do the Mt Kilimanjaro half marathon and I am doing my best to train for it. Thus far, I’ve been progressing well. It’s a slow process and it is definitely not my favorite thing to do in the village because everybody stares at me like I’m crazy because I am running to nowhere in particular. I also had a minor slip-up when my mom visited and when I went to my Mid-Service Conference…I don’t know how it happened but I kept confusing going for a run with eating homemade cookies?!?! But now I have taken’ the confusion out of things….by eating all the cookies.

Biology it going as it always does. Sometimes I like teaching and I like my students and other days it’s like they all stopped at Starbucks on the way to school and I want to punch them all in the face…too harsh?? Oh well haha. But really school is going great. I do have this week off because there is no school for the week before mid-terms. It was perfect timing too, because I have a lot of work to do with my other projects. And I still have meetings with my health group and my Headmaster/Board of Education. Busy bee.

As for my health group, we are still going strong and I have gotten a lot of compliments from my Peace Corps staff and other volunteer about our group so I really proud of that. Right now, I am planning a 10 day Business Seminar to begin an IGA (income generating activity). They will learn about business management skills, marketing skills, bookkeeping, etc….and also about how to make foods like jam, garlic paste, chili paste, etc. I really excited about it because then we can sell our products to make a profit for the group to sustain on their own and to continue our health education events without outside funding.

It’s raining right now and it reminds of Washington :)

My mom came to visit!! We had the best time!! I won’tgo into detail because I am sure most of you have heard from her already and maybe even seen some pictures too, but we had a great time everywhere we went!! The trip went really smoothly; it was perfect!

However, this brings me to my not so good news….I hate to do this to you guys again, but I have decided not to come home for Christmas. I know, I’m sad too but it’s the right thing for me now. With not that much time left to go here, I feel that coming home and then having to come back here would be more trouble than its worth. As much as I would love to see you all (all my favorite people in the world) I think it is best that I stick it out here for the deration. It was a tough decision but I had to make it. Then when I come home, I will be coming home for good!! PARTY TIME!! WAYNE’S WORLD!! ROCK ON!!

Good news to smooth out the bad news….I have only 10.5 months left!! Then I will be home!! Whoo Hoo!

Graduate School. So with the end of my Peace Corps Service in sight, I have been thinking about grad school. I have decided to apply to only one program because it is the only one I want to attend. It is a new field of psychology so there are not many schools that offer the program. I’m going to take my chances and apply to just the one program and hope that I get in….and if I don’t, I’ll make a new plan for the coming year and apply again. FYI: the program is a MA in International Disaster Psychology at the University of Denver…if you want to check it out; I couldn’t be more excited about it!! The only things that sucks is that I have to apply right now, they deadline is coming up, and I’m in Africa!! Man, this is going to be A LOT of work!

Kittens to cats to they are driving me crazy!! I still love them, I really do… but they are driving me insane!! 2 boys, 1 girl, and I am pretty sure they are all going through heat. The meow all the time, want to go inside, then outside, then inside again, they fight with other cats, fight with each other, and keep my up at night. In the coolest place ever (aka America), we have our pets get neutered, hormone shots, and all that cool stuff so they are more mellowed out. My cats are not mellowed out. Originally, I was thinking of bringing them home with me when I am done, but I now think they need the wide open spaces of Africa to roam.

THANK YOU for all of you who sent me stuff with my mom!! I got so many goodies it was insane!! You guys are wonderful!! I had so much fun opening and going through all my gifts…I can’t even explain how cool it was! Seriously, right now, I have things that I never thought I would have here….godiva chocolate, brie cheese, gouda crackers, home cookies (ok…well, those are actually gone like I said...but they were really REALLY good while they lasted :)….and I’m in Africa haha. I can’t thank you guys enough for thinking of me, still even after all this time, and sending so much stuff with my mom. I APPRECIATE IT SO MUCH!! However….I never thought I would say this…but there is NO NEED to send me anything right now. With all the stuff I just got, I have more floss, toothbrushes, stickers, candy, spices, soap, lotions, food, candles, etc than I know what to do with HAHA. Everyone has been so wonderful at sending me packages, I think I have enough stuff to last me the next 10 months…but I will let you know if I think of something else I can’t live without! I love you all very much, thank you again. XOXOX.

Facts, figures, and stats:

- I have read 34 books since arriving in country…I have really slowed down lately.

- MY DAD IS COMING TO VISIT IN JANUARY…T – 4 MONTHS!!

- I’m also going to be 26 years old in 4 months and 4 days…WEIRD!

- I have only 10.5 months left!! (it’s so cool…I had to say it again)

I don’t think it has been much more than a month since I last wrote a blog but I seems like FOREVER ~ So here we go….

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As usual this is not going to be in order of occurrence :)

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Dates and time. It is August and as of August 20th I will have been living in my small little village for a year and Tanzania for 1 year and 2 months. Also, at the end of this month I have my Mid-Service Conference. At the conference we will discuss what we have done and accomplished over the past year and how to make our projects sustainable over the next year. When I get back from the conference it will be September and I will have less than a year until I return to America. Weird, just plain weird. I will also be home to visit for Christmas in about 4 MONTHS. Again, weird. I have also had to start thinking about what I am going to do next, as in after Peace Corps because the fall is fast approaching and grad school applications will be due before I know it. I’m not even done here yet and I have to start planning for my return to America. Also, coming up is …. MY MOM IS COMING (MAMA YANGU ATAKUJA). I AM SO EXCITED! She will be here in less than 2 days. FUN FUN FUN! Again, the time she is here is going to go by way too fast. Time should really just slow down.

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AIDS Education Day. I recently put on an AIDS Education Day Event with my Health Group. It went wonderfully!!! I was so excited everything went very well and so many people came. We invited many villagers and even more came to participate than expected. Representatives from the district and local government and from Peace Corps also came. YAY. The whole day went smoothly with introductions, songs, dance, a skit (that was put on by my health group and it was SO funny), dramatic poem, and 7 HIV/AIDS topics covered during the lesson. After the event, we provided lunch of the normal rice and beans (and meat!) with water and soda. That evening we finished the event with cinema. There is a local NGO that I invited to show educational films about HIV/AIDS, malaria, and cleaning your drinking water. Everyone REALLY loved the cinema. The NGO started by showing music videos as we waited for it to get dark enough to show the films then showed the films that were actually educational AND entertaining. The whole event really went perfectly!

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Wedding. Two of my friends recently got married. The met in our group that came here to Tanzania together. So I went down south to the wedding and had a wonderful time. We spent time on the beach and relaxing. I also went on a hike to a waterfall that was about 1.5 hours hike from the beach. It was absolutely beautiful. The waterfall was SO HIGH! It was super cool. Every day we were there was so much fun…even the traveling to and from the south and the beach was fun! And it’s a long way for me to travel to and from south TZ. On the way down to the south I went through a national park and I saw sooo many animals, like zebras, giraffes, elephants, and others but I can’t remember what they are called because my mind has drawn a blank. The wedding was great too. It was very simple but beautiful. And the wedding night was out-of-control FUN! Pictures of everything (wedding, waterfall, beach, after party) are up on facebook. Enjoy :)

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Sparky. Uh, so Sparky (I just realized) is actually a girl. Oops.

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Secondary School. Teaching is going well, but the kids have been bugging me more lately. There are just so many of them to keep track of and keep a handle on. And discipline is just a funny issue considering the student to me ratio is about 100 to 1. Ha-ha. But I am happy because I have stopped teaching my Health Class because I am going to start a Health Club at the school. That was a very smart move for several reasons. It was good timing because last semester I cover everything about HIV/AIDS and all the students got that information. Now I don’t have to teach the Form 4 (seniors) students, who I never liked because they are just arrogant seniors. I also only have to be at the school Monday and Friday to teach my biology class which I actually like. It frees up my time Tuesday thru Thursday to work on my other million projects and go to my village health group meetings. And the Health Club will be more sustainable because only students who want to participate will be in the club and the teacher that begins the club with me will be able to keep it going after I leave. Good times.

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Soup. I’m going to have to take this moment to brag a little bit. Since being in TZ and having to cook over fire I have been making a lot of soups because they are easy and only require one pot. And recently, I have made what I call a ‘sweet potato vegetable stew’ and I must say it was quite delicious.

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Sports. As you guys know I applied to get a donation of sports equipment from a NGO in America and we were accepted to receive a donation. Well, I am happy to say that 3 of the 7 boxes have arrived and 2 more were just put in the mail. WE ARE SO EXCITED!!! My headmaster at the school has decided that the occasion must be celebrated. So after all the boxes arrive we will have large celebration to open the boxes. There will be music, drumming, dancing, all the students and people from the village government. I am so excited; it is going to be so much fun!!

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Mt Kilimanjaro Marathon. I have decided that I am going to run the ½ marathon in February. Yes, 13 miles; I am going to run 13 miles…and no, there is no prize of a year supply of steak and dark chocolate at the end of the race, but I am still going to do it!! I have already started training and I’m doing great. I am going to slowly increase the amount of time I run every week until the event. I have been running about 3 days a week and do a strength training workout indoors about 2 or 3 days a week. I am up to running 50 minutes. YAYA! I’m feelin’ good!

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New PCVs. As I have mentioned, there were new Peace Corps Trainees in my area training for 2 months. They are finishing this week and will be going out to their respective villages next week. I am very happy to be getting one health volunteer in the village next to mine. We can even walk to each other’s site it’s so close! FUN! The soon-to-be new volunteers also came to my village the other day to visit a Health Clinic and a Secondary School. What a funny day!?!?! I led about 25 Americans around my small little village. Oh so funny! What chaos!!

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Bad news. My safi duka (cool store) has been out of dark chocolate for several weeks now. Obviously I am still alive to write this blog, but my sanity is slipping. Thankfully, the newbie volunteers have been close by so I can go to the training site, work my magic, get a fix, and survive another day :)

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Good news. MY MOM IS COMING TO VISIT!! BITCHIN’!!

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Love,

Jessica

It is unbelievable!! How has a year gone by so fast?! It’s so odd to think I haven’t been in America for a whole year. Other volunteers and I talk about it all the time these days. As fast as this year has gone, older volunteers say the second year goes by even faster….that’s even crazier to think about…I’m going to be home before we know it!

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A reflection on the past year of my life in Africa…

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First, let me just say that it’s hard to write about such an experience. I have learned so much in such a short amount of time. I think I have learned most about myself and what I am capable of. Of course, we (as volunteers) join the Peace Corps to help others abroad, but to be honest I think volunteers get much more out of the experience than those we serve. Here, I have learned to be more patient, to be more flexible, and more accepting of others. I do believe that if more Americans (or rather, everyone) were to go abroad for a significant amount of time, we would have a very different world, a much better world.

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Over that past year I have also been on an emotional and mental health roller coaster. The first few months were extremely difficult. I got homesick often and was trying to find my place here. But that time has passed and I feel much more comfortable with every day. I know why I am here, what I am supposed to do, and that it’s ok if I don’t make a huge significant difference in the lives of Tanzanians (simply being here is making some small difference…I hope).

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I have also learned to respect Brittany Spears. I know what you’re thinking…what?! But here is my reasoning…here in Tz I am famous pretty much where ever I go because I am white. People want to know my and hang out with me, especially in my village. In my village, I am known by everyone, everyone knows my name. They watch everything I do and want to be around me all the time and it gets freaking ANNOYING. So in my short time of being famous (and on a much smaller scale), I can only image what Brittany Spears goes through. Therefore I don’t blame her for shaving her head, hitting a paparazzi’s car with an umbrella, and partying like the rock star she is because, well, sometime when people don’t leave me alone I want to do much worse haha.

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A quote that really sums up my life here….

“I’m riding the highs and diggin the lows. I have never had so many emotional days, but at least I feel alive.” – Michelle Branch

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Stats

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Things I have not done in a year:

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- Stepped on American soil

- Eaten good steak

- Had my mom’s home cooking

- Driven car

- Seen friends and family

- Gotten a pedicure or manicure

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Oh ya…have I mentioned I am finally being published. My research paper from college will be in the Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research. You can probably buy a copy online at the Psi Chi National Honor Society of Psychology website.

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Ok bye… my time is running out on the internet. I will continue another day…sorry this blog was short.

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XOXO Jessie

Ok, it has only been a month since my blog…I’m getting better :)

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Well, tomorrow is June which means I am coming up on my 1 year anniversary of leaving the United States of America. A year, wow.

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Things that have happened since my last blog….

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School: Teaching has continued to go well. The students became a bit obnoxious and annoying the past couple weeks because we were getting close to a break. We closed the school Friday for one month, until July 5th. I am super excited about this because I definitely need a break from teaching. I enjoy teaching but I will never teach high school kids again (that is for sure). They can get a little sassy, especially when were speaking different languages. So 2 weeks ago, for my last Health class before exams I did a condom demonstration. It was probably the students’ favorite lesson. Some of their questions were honestly down-right stupid. I don’t know where these kids make this stuff up, but I hope I set some things straight. At the beginning of the class, I teach the ABC’s of sex…but I am pretty sure they have already skipped A and B and went straight to C. Next I did the condom demonstration (what to look for before you use it and how to use a condom correctly). This is when all the stupid questions started rollin’ in. Good thing I had another teacher there to help translate stupidity. Lastly, the students ask for condoms at the end of class. Mind you, I had already handed out one to each student, but apparently that wasn’t enough. I handed out some more and then….it practically turned into a frenzy. I couldn’t hand them out fast enough. I was practically throwing them at the students like they were party favors. It was comical. I also have students now coming to my house occasionally to ask for condoms also. I don’t mind, I told them they could (even though I get the condoms from the health center where they also hand them out for free). But I suppose they feel more comfortable asking me than the doctor. At least they are asking for them, right!

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We also just got done with exams on Thursday, so I have another 400ish exams to correct. I have already graded the exams for my Biology class, about 100. The health exams I will get to later haha.

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Health group: My health group is still working hard. They have been a little flaky in attendance lately because it is farming season, but were still progressing. We have finished learning about HIV/AIDS and have started going out into the village to teach. Our first day teaching in the village went smoothly. We had about 30 people come, so it was a good turn out. Again, (not knowing I was going to) I did another (impromptu) condom demo. This time it was for mostly elderly men and women. At the end of our presentation one of the elders ask about condoms and said he didn’t know how to use them properly. So one of the members in the group showed him a picture from is book and said ‘that’s how, ok?’ He did this because for everyone but me the topic has never been talked about and is highly embarrassing. Therefore, I offered to give a demo. They were a bit hesitant but one of the other members in my group (a very forward thinking elder) said YES! Give a demo. So I did. And they all laugh just as much as my high school students. But I suppose that is was a funny sight to see…me, a white 25 year women from America sporting a side pony tail that day (yup im bringin’ it back) teaching a bunch of African elders. It may have been a bit awkward for them, but all-in-all it went well. They were all happy and thanked me for the demo. Maybe a slight step for fighting AIDS in Africa. YAY.

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On a less world changing note: I had the BIGGEST snail on my front door the other morning. Seriously, I’m not joking. He was 8 inches long and his shell was the size of a baseball. WHAT?! I had left him there and then when my mama came by I showed her. She freaked out and hit with a broom (she’s not scared of a tarantula, but is of a giant snail…I didn’t get it either??). Anyhoo, after she knocked it off my door, I picked him up and put him outside. Oh ya, I got pictures too.

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Other creepy things: AGAIN, I had a tarantula. This time he was in my living room next to my front door. And as always I handled the situation with all the maturity I could muster (which, by the way, wasn’t much). However, I didn’t go get my mama. I decided to handle it all by myself. So, what did I do?!?! First, I got ALL my flashlights and my lantern…I WASN’T going to lose that sucker in the dark. Next, I got my shovel to hit him with it. So that’s exactly what I did. BUT, after I hit him with the shovel I didn’t see him all smooshed up OR run away, so I dropped the shovel (making a very loud ruckus) and ran into the hallway. That’s when I spotted him, CHASING ME! Yes, chasing me. That is when I yelped, yes everyone I yelped a very frantic high-pitched yelp. At which point my cats took over and finished the job. I’m making progress though, don’t ya think?! By the time I get home I will be catching tarantulas with my hand haha.

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The last creepy thing I will mention in this blog: First, a little history. Since the day I have arrived here I have been shaking things out be for I use them. Don’t get it? Here’s some examples…before I get into bed, I shake out my sheets; before I put on my shoes, I shake ‘em; etc. This is just a precaution, so that if there is a bug inside anything it will not get on me when I use whatever I am going to use. So, when I was in my bafu (shower room) the other day and I had finished taking a shower (bucket bath), I grabbed my khonga (large piece of cloth, aka my current towel) and I shook it. What falls out?! A 5 inch long red legged pinching centipede looking bug. I have always though that the day I get comfortable and stop shaking things out, is the day I am going to get bitten in the ass. And that is exactly what could have happened. Bugs, I could certainly live without ‘em.

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Life in general: Thing are going smoothly. I still get more comfortable here with each day. The past few weeks had been kind of hard. I was in a bit of a slump…not sure why. Maybe because it has been almost a year since I left, or because my students were irritating me, or because I haven’t slept well with my crazy cats keeping me awake at night. Who knows?! But no worries! My mood has lifted. I have a break from school and I have some new projects that I am working on to get started soon. Some ideas: I think I might also start teaching at the health center or the primary schools or both, I’m going to start a information center at the health center so patients can read about health care while they wait, and I am going to start an income generating project of making and selling jam with my health group. FUN! I am really excited! I also have friends visiting today, a training to go to in DSM in June, my HIV/AIDS even is coming up in July, and I have gotten a bunch of packages from America lately. So things are looking up!

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Things worth noting:

- Three of my friends are visiting today and are going to spend a few days at my place. I love visitors.

- I often think of Peggy’s steak dinners (seriously, like all the time….with the salad with all the garlic and the cheesy bread, oh the cheesy bread).

- I want to be clean, like REALLY clean. And stay clean ALL day.

- Would it be nuts to say that I actually miss WA and its weather?! Yah guys, it’s still me.

- I have gained so much patience here, it’s unnatural (or shall we say un-cabral).

- Six and a half months until I visit home.

- I didn’t spell check or grammar check this blog.

It is unbelievable! It’s going to be May in 4 days! What’s that all about?!

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I know I said this last time, but sorry it has been so long since my last blog. I have been really busy lately and whenever I have come to town, I have had a lot of work to do. I also have a lot of work to do right now but I have some extra time because the computer guys have my flash drive. Why do they have it?! Because there is a virus on it and I can’t open any of my folders. This is another reason I have not written a blog in forever…because every time I try to use a computer, I have some kind of computer problem. The problems vary…last time I was here, I tried to print a document, but the printer didn’t want to print page 8, or 13-17. Why?? I don’t know! Tanzanian computers are plotting against me.

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YAY they fixed my flash drive!! I can open all my documents!!!...And now the internet is down.

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Since I can’t get on the internet right now, I have no idea where I left off or when I last wrote, so this blog is going to be all over the place and I’m just going to write as I think of things…not in chronological order (at all).

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OK, let’s get to the important stuff, shall we?

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY COHEN!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COHEN!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COHEN!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON!!

LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH!

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Have I told you about my new kitten?? He is adorable of course! His name is Sparky, but I considered changing to Tiger because he has cute black stripes all over him. But I didn’t want to cause an identity crisis, so I’m just going to leave it as Sparky…it fits his personality anyway. So you are probably wondering why I got another kitten and why I am turning into a crazy cat lady. Well, I had no intention of getting a third kitten but I had to rescue him. When I was at school about a month ago, they students called me over to look at something as I was leaving. When I went to them, they had a little kitten and he was shouldn’t-be-away-from-his-moma small. And the kids were messing with him, making him meow. (I have already said people don’t have any respect for animals around here). So what did I do?? I took him…aka rescue party 101. I took him home and gave him some milk and he has been a happy little guy every since. He is still tiny but he is getting bigger with every day. I give him milk and I buy actual soft kitten food in Tanga for him. He has a hard time eating anything not too soft. He super adorable but has caused me a little stress on 2 occasions. On 2 different nights he didn’t come home before dark. On both occasions, I sent out my search party (aka…all the neighborhood kids) with flash lights and lanterns to find him, but on these two particular nights, he was nowhere to be found. I cried…both times. I told you! I’m a crazy cat lady. But he came the next mornings and my sanity was restored. I figured he has no sense of direction like me and got lost in the dark.

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Frik and Frak are still doing great! They are still cute as ever of course and have taking a liking to the new little guy. They play all the time and it is super cute to watch because the big guys barely have to do anything to pin the little guy, but Sparky always comes back for more. He’s determining to win at least one play-fight.

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Devil cat. I don’t if I have mentioned him before. But there is an all-black cat in my neighborhood and he attacks anything and everything…he even kills chickens!! I don’t know why my villagers haven’t killed him yet?! I’m telling you, this cat his seriously possessed. He has: attacked my cats on several occasions, cased my house (literally circling my house it at night), and jumping up to the windows or running into the door to freak out my cats, he waits for them to come outside in the morning, and (again) he has killed chickens!!! So, I apologize to all of you animal rights people (I am one too), but there may come a day when I am dressed in all black, war-paint on my face, sitting in my backyard with a machete and a shovel.

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Sometimes I have dreams that I have electricity and a fridge.

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Mafia Island! So freaking beautiful!! First we went to Dar and stayed one night at the beach which was super pretty and fun. We went swimming, got some sun time, and played pool. Then the next morning we caught the ferry to go to Mafia Island. We took the long/cheaper route to get to the island. But I would recommend taking a plane…it’s not that much more AT ALL and it will save you a whole day’s travel. Anyhow, the island was sooo pretty. It had white beaches and teal warm water. It was fabulous, to say the least. We spent a lot of time on the beach napping, sunbathing, relaxing and swimming. Another day, we rented a boat and boated around a bit, went to another small island and saw/walked through ancient ruins. Bitchin! For lunch we stopped at a long and GORGEOUS white sand bar. They people we in-charge of the boat brought us freshly open-fire smoked fish, chapatti, salsa, limes, bananas, soda and beer. We hung out, ate, swam, and played Frisbee. SO FUN! Another day, 3 of us got another boat and went snorkeling. And I saw the biggest star fish I had ever seen!! It was awesome! The rest of the day, my friend and I just did…nothing. It was a perfect day. We napped, read, rested, and laid on the beach, and only got up to eat :) Mmmm delicious. They weather was perfect-ish the whole time we were there. It was the off-season so there was some rain/cloud cover, but not too much and it was nice to have a little break from the sun…didn’t get a sunburn, just a tan :)

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One bummer of the trip was….i had forgotten my cord to charge my camera and it was dead. I was able to take some pictures in Dar and on the ferry ride over, but that’s all. I know! I was supper bumbed too! But don’t worry…I am going to get pictures from everyone else when we meet up in September for training. Better late than never!

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Sometimes I hear frogs at night.

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Work is going great. I have been super busy. I am still teaching Biology and Health. We just had midterms, so I had about 400 papers to grade between all my classes (yup and 300 were in Swahili). My head hurt. I have finished most of them but I think I still have about 100 left. I have also been helping my Headmaster fill out an application to get an Education Volunteer for our school. That would be so cool if I got another volunteer in my village…here’s hoping! With my Assistant Headmaster, I have been helping him write a letter/fill out an application to this non-profit company I found in the states. They give donations of sports equipment. We are trying to get equipment for soccer, basketball, and volleyball. (Note: The donation itself is free, but I will have to pay for shipping and custom fees for the packages to get here. The school doesn’t have money, so I may pay for it. I am not sure how much it will be, but I am estimating around $500. So if you would like to possibly help, that would be wonderful and greatly appreciated!! I will let you know if the donation comes through!)

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My health group is rolling along too. We are learning about HIV/AIDS right now and plan to go out into the community next month and teach the villagers. We are also planning for our big AIDS education event in July. It’s going to be great!

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Sometimes I wake up in the morning and smell bacon or pancakes.

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I have had 2 more spiders and I would guess they were in the tarantula family. And yes of course I handled the situations like capable mature women….I went to get my mama next door and she came over with a big stick and a mission to kill. I got a picture of one of them and the flash reflected off his eyes they were so big. NUTS!! I have also a few scorpions in my bathroom, but they are just little fellas and I don’t mind ‘em. Lastly, I saw my first snake the other day on my dirt path to school. He also was a little fella…probably a garden snake. I almost stepped on him, so I jumped to avoid him and he ran away. They next day the grandparents who own the house next to where I saw the snake had cleared on the overgrown bushes. They said they didn’t want be to see another snake…how cute of them?!

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Sometimes I run out of things to say.

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Sidenotes:

- I have been here 10 months…15 months to go!!

- I have a lot of dirt under my nails right now…I wonder where I can get a manicure around here?

- I went swimming in town yesterday and met some adorable kids and we played in the pool for hours together.

- I want to drive a car.

- 7.5 months until I visit home for Christmas WHOO HOO!

- I am going to start writing things down so I remember to write them on my blog.

- I just got internet back…the last blog I wrote was on February 20th!!!! MY BAD!

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XOXO Jessie

Almost 2 months since my last blog…I can’t believe how fast the time is going! It is out of control!

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Anyhow, a lot has happened but it is really all a blur since it has been so long. As always, I will do my best to remember but I am sure I will forget something. My bad.

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The last time I blogged it up I was getting ready to go Dar and Dodoma for trainings. Dar was great! We were able to stay with an RPCV (returned Peace Corps volunteer) who is now working for UNAIDS. He was super nice, had a very nice American house and we had a wonderful time there for our short stay in Dar. He took us to a yummy Italian restaurant (actually owned by two Italian brothers) and the food was delish YUM. We also got to go to his yacht club which was right on the water and they had good pizza too. Also staying at his place, were two other volunteers (extending for a 3rd year) just getting back from visiting the states. One of the volunteers I absolutely LOVE. She’s awesome!! Why is she awesome, you ask? Because she is Italian, loves food, and is loud. Aka, she is another me, but blond. We swear we are soul mates the way we talk about food together, especially the food she ate when she went to the states for a month. She even took pictures of the food she had (sound like anyone we know?).

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I also got to see the movie Avatar while in Dar. I was super happy to see another movie (movie #2 since being here). The movie was so cool, even though I couldn’t see it in 3-D. I did a little bit of shopping (I got a cute dress and a pair of sandals) and think that is about all that happened in Dar.

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Dodoma……next we went to PEPAR training.

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As for the training part, it was ok. Nothing super exciting; we did a lot of sitting and listening.

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The best part of the training was when we were not actually training. We went out for good food (I had a REAL bacon cheeseburger!!) and hung out having a great time. AND as you know, I had my birthday while I was in Dodoma with my friends. We had a BLAST! It was so much fun; I was so happy I was with them for my birthday! The day of the 16th, we went out dancing until 2am (until it was my bday). The following morning, on my bday, we went to a hotel and spent the whole day relaxing, laying poolside, swimming, and eating Chinese food. It was fabulous!! I have already put up some pictures, but I am going to try to put up some more. (Just to note: most of the pictures I have a beer in my hand, but I promise it was the same 2 beer s in all the pics haha).

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In conclusion, training was fun! It was the last time we were going to see each other as a group until August/September for our mid-service training at 1 YEAR!! Wow!

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We are getting closer to the current date….let’s keep goin’

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Two weekends ago we were unexpectedly summoned to Moshi town….most of the volunteers in the north had to meet up in Moshi to get the Swine flu vaccine. Getting the vaccine took about 5 minutes to meet with our nurse. The rest of the time was free time to hang out in a big town, FUN. I left Friday morning and got back Sunday afternoon. During the day, we went swimming (which never gets old!). Then we went to a bar which was fantastic! It was outside and had music/dancing, a big projector TV playing soccer, and bonfires to sit around. We had a bitchin time enjoying each other’s company and sitting by the fire while having some beers :)

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Last weekend, I came into my nearby town to meet up with the 4 other volunteers in my area. We did the usual of swimming and eating great Indian food, and then went to listen to some traditional Tanzanian music in the evening.

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Now, I am back in my village for a while. Here is what I am working on:

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- I have started teaching Freshman Biology (which I do mostly in Swahili with very little English) at the Secondary school.

- I am also teaching Freshman thru Senior Health/Life Skills.

- My Health Group is doing great. I just got them t-shirts so they are super excited. Right now, we are teaching our village about Malaria. Next is HIV/AIDS.

- Also, my group and I are planning to plant a tree nursery in March at the beginning of our rainy season and then plant them near the schools, village office, and health center.

- I have started helping my Headmaster at the Secondary school with entering student information onto his ‘new’ (very outdated) laptop. Everything is on paper and I am trying to help into the century of technology. Lots of excel spreadsheets, lots of work ;)

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So that is where things are at! I’m sorry it has been so long since my last blog. I feel like I just grazed over the last 2 months but I think I hit the high points! There may be more time in-between blogs for a while…the internet in my small town that is close to me is bad and getting worse (they wanted to free up memory, so they cleaned up their computers…aka they took off things like Microsoft Word…uh, hello? Isn’t that a staple? IDIOTS.) Anyways, so I have been coming into the bigger town to use the internet but I can’t come here as often.

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Overall, things are going smoothly. I am feeling a lot more a part of my village and I am getting a lot busier with all my projects, activities, and classes. The days/weeks are going by fast and with more things coming up I think time is going to keep rolling by. That being said, I still can’t wait to be back in America for good!! The American lifestyle is the only style!

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News, updates, and blurbs:

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- Unfortunately, I am no longer visiting home in April. As much as I would like to, I have too many things going on right now and April is just coming up too fast. I also think it would play with my mind a little too much to come home at this point. Things are great, but getting a taste of America for just a week and then coming back would be way too hard.

- BUT! I am still coming home in December for Christmas and I cannot wait…and at that point I will only have 7 month left after I get back here, whoo hoo!

- AND! My parents are coming to visit in June-ish. I CANT WAIT!

- 8 months done, 17 months to go!!

- I am on book #23-ish, I think.

- Frik and Frak are fabulous :)

- I haven’t driven a car in 8 months, weird

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That’s all folks. LOVE YOU

Jessie

Ah yes, Thanksgiving! Man, I have to put my thinking cap on…that seems like a long time ago!-For the big TG day, I went to Moshi. It is a town up north, not too far, about 5 hour bus ride away. I met some of my friends who live further north. It was so FANTASTIC to see them, I can’t even explain! It was the first time I had left my region and had seen friends from my training class, since we left training. When I got to Moshi, my friends were waiting for me at a coffee shop. It was the WEIRDEST experience when I walked in…so weird! First of all, the café was so American…it had the works: coffee, food, treats, etc. Second, my friends were there…just sitting at a table, eatn and drinkn coffee, it was like I was meeting friends in the states. Third, the whole place was filled with other Americans and Europeans…it was like tourist central. It made for a very odd (but absolutely wonderful) experience. After the shock of seeing my friends and hugging them all, we ordered food. I had a ham and cheese BAGEL…it was de-lish! Then, of course, I had to get a chocolate milkshake too, just for good measure :) We hung out for a little while and then headed to a store to get some food, snacks, drinks, etc. The grocery store wasn’t that big, but it did have some great stuff that you can’t find everywhere.-After we got what was on our list (and a whole lot more), we headed to our friend’s house. The house belongs to a previous volunteer. He was an environment volunteer; he finished up a few years ago, returned to the states, got his masters, and then came back to Tz to work for an NGO. He has a nice ‘American’ house and was kind enough to have us all over for a long 4-day weekend.-The first night, there were only about 10 of us and we didn’t do a lot. We hung out, ate, drank some beer, relaxed, listened to some music, and played cards…pretty much a typical relaxing thanksgiving itinerary.-The following day, we slept in and then I made breakfast. I was so happy to have a stove and be able to cook, so I made French toast for the whole group. And they were quite yummy, if I don’t say so myself ;) Later on, the guys put together a slip’n’slide. About half of us went for a slide and the rest of us just watched and laughed. It just seemed a little too hazardous to be floppin around on a slip’n’slide…they had to lather themselves in soap to get a good slide going haha. We had so much fun; it was pretty funny too!-A little note about the turkey: This thanksgiving was the first time I had ever seen my turkey ALIVE before I ate it. He was hanging out in the front courtyard until…we cut off his head. Don’t worry…I got a picture of the beheaded turkey!-In the afternoon, we went into town to get some things we need for dinner. And yes, we realized we weren’t going to be eating until very late, but we just couldn’t get motivated to start any earlier, silly us. Anyways, we went into town…picked up some last minute items, met some more friends, and got a late lunch (yup…we were in no hurry…taking our time in the Tz). We finally got back to the house around 4pm (I think?!). By that time, more people had showed up and had started cooking…Thank Goodness! There wasn’t much to do by then, so I didn’t get to help cook as much as I would have liked, but it was that nice everything was almost ready and we didn’t have to eat at midnight (YAY). We finished up a few things and then ate our feast. It was scrumptious!!! It was definitely a real thanksgiving meal…turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, vegetables, cranberry sauce, and a bunch more.-We had a great time! After eating, we all relaxed and talked. There was probably close to about 30ish people there. It was a great group of people…current volunteers at all different stages in their service (new, few months in, 1 year in, and about to finish) extended volunteers, returned volunteers, and some others working for NGOs in the area. It was such an eclectic group of people! What a wonderful time!-As it got later, some people left, but most stayed the night. We stayed up late and then slept in again. The following day, we did absolutely nothing, but lounge around the house. A couple people went to town (we had them get us lunch from the coffee shop and bring it back to the house…lazy us!). A few of us also worked on our reports that were due the following week. I also used the computer, as I am sure you guys all noticed I was able to put up a lot of pictures on FB. He has great internet, jealous!-And that about sums it up…the next day, we got up, caught the bus, and I headed back to my village………………..-NEXT….World Aids Day (WAD)-When I got back to my village, I pretty much hit the ground running. World Aids Day was just a couple days away and we had a bit more practicing to do. We practiced everyday that week and had fun. We prepared 3 activities: a skit about how you should go to the hospital (and not the witch doctor) if you think you have HIV/AIDS or any other kind of illnesses, a dramatic poem about HIV/AIDS prevention/care, and a song about HIV/AIDS prevention/care.-The day of the event, we met at the village office at 7am, so we could leave at 7:30am. Everyone put on a red ribbon for AIDS awareness that I had made. When the bus actually got there at 8:15am, we headed to a nearby village for the event. When we got there, people were already setting up and we sat in the shade until things got going. Throughout the day, we watch other groups put on there activities, walked around to the few booths that were set up, put on our activities, and danced to some music. It was a much bigger event than I anticipated and it went very smoothly. I was really happy with the way everything turned out, whoo hoo! Before we left, food was offered, so we had something to eat, and then headed back to our village. When we arrived, I bought everyone a soda for a ‘thank you’ and we talked about the day. Everyone had a wonderful time and said they had a lot of fun!-NEXT………………Bat #2-I can’t really remember when this happened, but it was some night between WAD and leaving for training. Anyway, I had another bat visit me. He shwooped down from the ceiling after sneaking into my house. But this I was prepared…I had kittens!! Not going to lie, they kinda did most of the work while I hid under my mosquito net on my bed. My kittens did a number on him, and let me tell you, when a bat gets attacked he does not make pretty noises…they also flop around like a fish outa water. Though, once my kittens had demobilized him, I MUSTERED up some courage and got out from under my net…I wanted to get the bat outside before my kittens really got into him and either made a gross mess or got bitten or something. So, got my kittens and put them in the other room and got my broom. At the time, the bat had flopped to under my bed. I had to sweep him out from under there and swept him out my back door. Mind you, I was quite flustered this whole time and my little heart was beating pretty fast because he was still flopping around and I didn’t want him to suddenly get a last burst of energy, start flying around pissed off, and come after me. But, I successful got him out and then called my mom :)-NEXT…………whew, I’m on a bloggin roll!-The following week (the 2nd week of December), I went to IST (In-service Training). Prior to leaving my village, my friend who had a much longer trip from up north came and visited me at my village. We spent the night at my place and I showed her around my village. It was nice to have my first guess. I treated her to a nice dinner….mac and cheese haha.-The next day, we got on the bus and headed to Morogoro. It was a nice bus ride, not to long. When we got there, we met our other friends, and got to our hostel. It was soooo cool to see the whole group again!! I couldn’t believe that it had already been almost 4 months since we had seen each other. We got there a day early, so we could have a day t hang out before training started. So, on Sunday we went to a hotel with a swimming pool. We ate some good food, drank (again hehe) poolside, lay in the sun, and swam all day. Fun times!!-Not too rush through training, but its kind-of a blur, nothing super exciting. We spent most of the days sitting and learning. It was useful information, but it got a little boring at times too. In the evenings, we got dinner at the nearby ‘American’ restaurants…had some really good pizza and a bacon cheese burger…oh yes, I was a happy girl! Also, we celebrated a few birthdays while we were there. Saturday night (w/ no work on Sunday) we went out dancing until 2:30am…we had a blast!!-Monday and Tuesday, we finished up our training and our Counterparts (from our village) came on Sunday, so they were there with us.-Wednesday, we all left. Weird. Some people I won’t see until training at our one year mark (we are divided into 2 groups for our training in January). My counterpart and I got back to our village that afternoon. Since then……………….-NEXT……………..Christmas, New Years, and everything in between-Since I have been back in my village, I have been moving at a bit of a slow pace. I am only going to be here for about 2.5 weeks and then I leave again for training, so it would be difficult to start things then turn around and leave again. Plus, the schools are closed and the holidays have kept people busy. One thing I have started is a project with my health group (the same group from WAD). We have started meeting every Tuesday to talk about health issues concerning the village. Right now, we are meeting to I can teach them about malaria, HIV/AIDS, etc. Then they will go out into the villages, go house to house, and teach them/answer their health questions…kind of an educational phone tree idea :)-Anyway, that’s about all have been doing, work wise….just writing lesson plans, translating them into Swahili, and going meetings.-For Christmas, I went to the same hotel that I did for Halloween. I had a nice time. I really didn’t get bummed out like I thought I was going to, simply because it didn’t feel like Christmas. Same as last time I spent 2 days, 1 night there. When I arrived, it was raining so I couldn’t go swimming or lay in the sun. What did I do then?? I watch lots of movies and TV in my cozy little bed and only left my room to go to the restaurant to have good food like breakfast buffet, grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soups, a cheeseburger and ice-cream. Good day!-They next day it was sunny so I laid in the sun and got some color. In the afternoon, I showered, ate lunch, and returned to my village.-NEXT………….Mwaka Mpya (New Years)-For New Years, I stayed in the village. I basically did nothing but hang around my house and play with the kids. We have been having so much fun lately. They don’t have school and I’m being a bum hahahehe. We colored, played cards, I tried to bake a cake (kinda worked, kinda didn’t….I didn’t have measuring cups), and lots of relaxing.-The evening of New Years Eve, some political guy came to our village to make a speech. We all gather in the center of my village and listened. After that, we all had dinner…the political guy, his crew, me, and my VEO and WEO. I got back to my house close to 9pm. There was going to be some music later for New Years Eve, but I was exhausted playing with the kids all day, so I stayed home, read, and slept. Lame, I know, but oh well ;) -NEXT…………………Next week!-Next week on Wednesday, I am coming back into town to my friend again. She is coming to stay with me for one night and then we are going to Dar es Salaam for Ward Training (2 days). Oh ya, I got chosen to be the Warden for my region. Basically, every region has a Warden. They are the contact person for their area, if there is an emergency. Then, if need be, I contact everyone in my area with the news and round everyone up. After Dar, we are going to Dodoma for PEPFAR Training (1 week). I am excited to see half the group again and be with my friends on MY BIRTHDAY! YAY!-Now that you are all up to date, here are some extra little tid-bits…….-Mysteries of the World:- I can win at cards games all the time….even when I don’t understand in the slightest how they card game is actually played.- Why my kittens eat through a plastic bag to get food, when they have a whole bowl of the exact same food sitting right there.- I can hold a long conversation with someone in Swahili, yet still have no idea what we talked about.- Where did the chicken go?- I had thought of another mystery, but now I have forgotten it. I will try to remember and put it up next time.-Fun facts:- I put up some new pictures on Face Book.- 7 months down, 18 months to go.- I coming home next year…weird, I can say that now!- I am visiting home in 94 days…its flying by, ain’t it?!- I am on my 19th book…whoa.- In 15 days, I am going to be 25 years old…hello a quarter of a century!- I’m first typing this blog in Word and I am already coming to the end of the 5th page….new record?!?!-I’m done and you guys are all caught up...hurray!-See you all soon!!!!!!!-With love,Jessie

Oh my! It has been over a month since my last blog! Anyhoo, a lot has happened and I hope I don’t forget anything. I won’t give you the day-to-day activities (partly because I wouldn’t be able to remember haha), but I will cover the highlights…so here it goes…-Week of Monday November 16th:-OK, that was forever ago, so I can’t remember exactly what I did, but it was probably the usual…visiting schools, meetings preparing for World Aids Day, going to town on Friday, etc. Originally, I thought I wasn’t even going to have any material to write on my blog about, but oh buddy, was I wrong. That weekend was a HOOT!! My VEO invited me to her friends wedding. We left Saturday to go a few villages over where the wedding and celebrations were going to take place. We left about two in the afternoon and got there about three thirty. It really isn’t that far away, but transportation is not great, so of course, everything takes forever. When we get there, we go to her friends’ house and drop off our stuff. From there, we walk around the village and say hi to some people she knows, some family, and I met the groom. We were talking to him at his family’s house when some more people walked in to say hello….and one of the guys was a volunteer, random! He has been here for two years already and one of his Tanzanian friends was related to the wedding party…-After visiting, we returned to the house where the celebrations were starting (the actual wedding was the next morning on Sunday). It was getting dark, the music had begun, and MANY more people had arrived. A note about the music – so they do have speakers and such, however, they always sound awful! It is so static-y, it sounds like the speakers are dying. Then there was a fan (face down) on top of the stereo, as to keep it from overheating. It’s comical.-For a little while, I help make mandazi (doughnut-like fried bread) and we break for chai (tea) and mandazi. I helped pass out tea to the millions of people. At this point people have started dancing and it is completely dark, except for the light coming from inside the house. I partake in the dancing and dance for hours. There are so many people and it is outside. It was so much fun to dance under the stars, with a couple hundred Tanzanians, clouds of red dusting rising from the ground, music blaring…I became so sweaty and covered in a nice film of dirt. Later in the evening, we had a traditional wedding meal…rice and beans ;) Then more dancing, dancing, and dancing.-About 11:30pm my VEO and I are tired so we head inside the house to rest. There are people just lying around everywhere. People just take breaks and then go outside to dance some more. The party goes ALL night. For a bit, we are laying on the living room floor…then we move to one of the bedrooms. Again, there are people napping everywhere on the floor, but there are some cushions to lie on, so we get ready for bed and go to sleep. (Meanwhile the music is still playing, lights are still on, and MANY people are still dancing…its very loud).-An hour into sleeping, I wake up to a girl (she is probably in her early twenties) screaming. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but then some people brought her inside…and into our room of course. She was writhing in pain, screaming, and flopping around like she was having a seizure. But don’t worry, she wasn’t having a seizure…she was only possessed by an evil spirit. She screamed and flopped around the floor for about 30 minutes (not going to lie, I was a bit nervous….while my VEO was just irritated that they had woke us up). But no fear, some of the grandmothers chanted for the evil spirit to leave her body, she was splashed with some holy water by a witch doctor and all was OK again. She calmed down and left our room. She was to go rest for a few hours…apparently being possessed by an evil spirit is quite exhausting. After that was all taken care of, we went back to sleep for a few hours. And yes, before falling asleep, I dreamt about America and pondered how fast I could get the hell outa there. Still, the music continued, nobody was alarmed, the dancing and partying continued until 6am.-A few hours of sleep later, things were good. We got up, got ready for the wedding, and ate mandazi and tea. We got to the church about 7am and the wedding was to start at 10am. We waited around for a while, pretty exhausted from the night before. The wedding was very pretty and similar to a traditional wedding in America. Some minor differences are: the bride looks like she got ready in the 1980’s (light blue dress, puffy and lacey, too much make-up, jewelry from Claire’s, glitter everywhere, and white gloves), the bride and groom never smile or make eye-contact (if they do, that means that they are looking forward to the wedding night), and toilet paper is considered decorations (its kinda like streamers, right?!).-At the conclusion of the ceremony, we went back to the house for the reception. We had the traditional meal again…rice and beans, haha. We all gathered around outside and the bride and groom (with their parents) came out of the house (they had all changed clothes). Then they went back inside and changed clothes again…this occurred about 4 times. I still don’t understand the purpose of it, but finally they came out and stayed. They sat down and were present with their presents (presents are typically danced up to them). And yes, I danced up to them and gave them a present (cash). The also cut a cake…it was very small, like the size of a dinner plate and had no icing, nothing fancy. But they fed each other a bite, just like we do in the states. To wrap things up, everyone just mingled for a while and slowly dispersed. My VEO and I visited her grandma nearby…well, they visited and I napped on the porch…I was exhausted :)-Around the time the sun was setting, we headed back to the house. I skipped dinner (it was some kind of mystery meat??). I went to bed early. They next morning we said our goodbyes and caught our bus home….-Which took nearly 4 hour! For not being that far away, it took us a long time to get home. This was because a number of reasons: it started raining (not good when you’re driving a heavy big bus on dirt roads in the bush of Africa), the road turned to mud and we almost fell over (so we had to get off the bus so it could get up the little hill outa the ditch then re-board), and our buses driver stopped for tea. But finally, I got home. Man, whatta weekend!-Well, that’s all I am going to type for now….But stay tuned for blogs on Thanksgiving, World Aids Day, bat #2, IST (In-Service Training), and soon Christmas!-Quick news:~ I got 6 packages today!!! WHAT?! Merry Xmas to me!~ I am on my 15th book.~ My kittens are getting soo big…they’re not babies anymore.~ 6 months down…19 months to go.~ And we are in the off-season of Rubber Chicken (aka the chicken may have been killed for food...not really sure, but he hasn't been around for about a month now?!).-Love you all,Merry Christmas,And Happy New Year!!Jessie

Well, another week has passed…its crazy how fast the weeks go sometimes! -A summary of this week: This has been one of those tougher weeks. There is nothing catastrophic that has happened; nothing in particular. It is just one of those weeks where many little things happen all at once and at the end of the day you just want to punch someone in the face, go home to America, and eat a cheeseburger :) Without going into a long boring story, the few things that made for a tough week are: my Swahili sucked more than usual, people often told me things instead of ask me things, I have had no control of my own schedule (and this week I seem to not even be filled in on what my schedule is), and I have had a difficult time corresponding with the Peace Corps. See?! Nothing big, I will live!-Here is a play by play….-Saturday, I went to a shamba (farm) with one of the villagers and his wife. I had a great time! I met him a 7am in the morning and then started our walk to his farm. It was about a 30min walk and by the time we got there the sun was in full force. I was sweating like crazy. When we got there, his wife had already arrived earlier. For the next 3hrs, we broke up the dirt and weeded, using a hoe. My arms were tired by the end of those 3hrs and quite thirsty, especially since the Tanzania’s never take breaks or drink water. While we worked, we chit-chatted about random things and they asked some questions about America. When we were finished, I was happy to be told that I had helped a lot and that I was very good at farming. Originally, they were skeptical of my ability to do physical labor, because of course, I am American and have soft hands. After we returned to their house, we cracked open a few coconuts and drank the juice and ate the meat. It was delicious!!-After that, I returned home to do the usual…study, read, cook, and even got to talk to a friend of mine up north. However, the water didn’t come on until late in the afternoon, so I couldn’t shower until then. I had gotten quite dirty at the shamba and I had to stay like that until about 5pm…haha, you should have seen how dirty I was…I smelled like flowers.-Sunday I went to church. This week I went to the Roman Catholic Church. I had met a teacher prior to church and we walked together. That was nice and now I know where it is…and can even (maybe) find it on my own. I enjoyed most of my time at church until about the last 5mins when they were making announcements. During the announcements, they started mentioning my name and I couldn’t understand most of what was being said. Afterwards, I ask the teacher I had come with what they had said (she speaks a bit of English). She said that if I come again next week, they would like me to speak about society. Did they ask me if I wanted to speak before they announced it to the whole congregation? No, they did not. What about the broad topic of ‘society’ do they want to speak about? I have no idea. Am I going to speak next week? No, certainly not. That was one of those moments I got irritated. So, then I went home, put on my ipod and I did a few loads of laundry, which actually took most of the afternoon because I had not done laundry in so long.-Monday I was a bit of a hermit. I stayed home to study Swahili. I only left my house to say hello to my VEO and WEO in their offices, to buy tomatoes and onions, and to pick up a skirt and blouse I had made. And a little about the shirt/skirt combo – I did pick out the fabric, but I did not get to decide on the design of the outfit. It was discussed, but apparently my opinion was not needed. Later in the afternoon, the kids came over to color.-Tuesday I went to the primary school that I have just discovered. It was a great visit until (again) the last hour or so. During the first part of my visit, I was visiting with some of the male teachers who are quite nice and know a good amount of English. We discussed many things, mostly comparing Tanzania and America, politics, education, etc. Then I sat in on some classes which I actually understood a lot of! But, about an hour before school was to end, I was sitting in the office with the female teachers. And there was a teacher I had not met before. I do not like her. She laughed at me because I didn’t understand most of what she was saying. And it was not a haha- don’t worry about it, you’ll understand eventually kind of laughing. It was haha-you’re a flipping idiot kind of laughing. I had to fight back tears (this was the day when I wanted to punch people – particularly this teacher). Well, we finally figured out what she was trying to communicate to me. She was asking “In America, do you hang pictures on your wall to decorate your house?” Seriously?!?! That’s the stupidest question EVER! I good punching was deserved, but I controlled myself.-After I got home, I played Frisbee with the kids for the first time since getting a Frisbee last week. They had so much fun! So, that brought my spirits up a bit :)-Wednesday morning I studied Swahili and went to a village meeting in the afternoon. It was about 3.5hrs and my name was mentioned several times again (I understood most of it, I think). -Thursday. I went into town, instead of Friday. Did the usual…including going to the market where I bought eggplant, cucumbers, avocadoes, bananas, green peppers, papayas, carrots, and a tangerine. I’m going to make home-made vegetable noodle soup and eggplant with spaghetti. YUM. Afterwards, I returned to my village for a meeting.-Friday I lead a meeting (that I, again, did not know about until the last minute). It was to start brain-storming ideas about what activities we would like to host for World Aids Day (December 1st). The meeting actually ended early (that never happens in TZ). Then I caught the bus and headed to my friends house (a fellow volunteer). She lives incredibly close to me and was hosting new volunteers for their shadow week. I got there about 4:30pm. We made dinner which consisted of veggie burgers, home-made buns, potato salad, and brownies. It was fun! I spent the night, we made pecan cinnamon rolls for breakfast and now…-It’s Saturday! I have to pass through town to get to my village, so I have stopped at the internet café (it wasn’t working on Thursday). Later today, I will probably just hangout, get water, make dinner, and read. Tomorrow, church and then the same.-Though this has been a roller coaster of a week, I have had a few minor accomplishments:-I have decided to keep a list of all the books I read while here. So far, I am on my 12th book (or maybe 13th…I think I may have forgotten one?). Only two of the books I read during training; the other 10 I have read since getting to my site August 20th. I think my English vocabulary may be improving faster than my Swahili haha. I attempted and I am now able to carry a 20Liter bucket of water on my head!! The women in my village are very proud and said I am Tanzanian now. It is actually not as hard has you might think to carry 20Liters of water on your head. The hardest part is getting up onto your head!I also successfully made Puyallup Fair Scones using a fire and few pots to make an ‘oven.’ They were so YUMMY and reminded me of home :)Lastly, I have invented a new sport. It’s called Rubber Chicken. This is how you play: keep a good supply of rubber-bands close for quick retrieval, and then when a chicken comes into your house to eat your kittens’ food, poo on your floor, or eat your tomatoes, shoot rubber bands at it. It actually takes more skill than you think. You have to move stealth-like (as to not alert the chicken to the upcoming attack) and you also have to anticipate the chickens’ movements (they are very fast!) so you have to shoot where the chicken is going to be rather than where he currently is. So far, one rubber band has made contact. Score: Chicken 4356, Rubber-band 1.-OK done.Love, Jessie

Where do I begin?! It’s been two weeks since my last blog and it has been a good couple weeks :)

The weekend of October 24th and 25th-

Well, I can’t really remember what I did on Saturday…probably the usual - studying, spending a couple hours hand washing a load of clothes, etc. Sunday was interesting because we had our village elections. I started the morning by following my VEO around the village while she prepared and lead the elections and I helped when I could. I headed back to my house about 12noon for lunch and hung out for a couple hours waiting for the election results. I then met my VEO again at about 4pm. The elections were supposed to be done and the result known. But of course, that was not the case…so I waited, and waited…for about 5 hours. I was just hanging out watching the chaos, drank some hot milk with my VEO while we waited, and eventually helped do some counting of the ballots. About 9pm, they were still not done, so I went home; I was tired. And that’s when the real excitement started!! When I walked into my house, I heard my kittens growling. This is not unusual; I immediately knew they had caught something. I was expecting a large ant, bee, maybe even a cockroach or spider. Well, I was correct...it was a spider, but no ordinary spider. It was a tarantula!!! I momentarily freaked out and then ‘handled’ the situation with more calmness than I expected haha. Here is what I did (don’t judge): first I got my big flashlight (I had used my smaller one to walk home). Then I stared at the tarantula for a brief moment thinking ‘What the heck?!’ It was about as big as the palm of my hand! Its body was black and it had orange hair all over it. AAHH! So, then I tried to get my kittens away from it, so they would stop playing with it and I could do whatever I intended to do (wasn’t sure what that was yet?). At that point, it wasn’t really moving…my kittens had done a good job of almost killing it or at least shocking it until it stopped moving. From there, I decided that spraying it with the last of my cockroach spray was a good idea, just wanted to make sure he was dead. Uh, then I put a cup over it so it couldn’t move and I secured the cup in place by putting a wooden stool on top of the cup :) I didn’t want to try to do anything until I knew it was 110% dead and wanted to wait until morning so I could get rid of him in daylight…just incase he started to run, I wanted see where he went! After that was taken care of I went to sleep. In the morning, I removed the stool and the cup and found the tarantula dead. I took a picture with my phone. The moment had to be documented. Then I swept him up with a broom and dust pan and threw him outside in a puddle of water…I wanted to drown him too, ya know... just in case.

The rest of the day, I stayed home. I didn’t feel well; I had a stomach ache and a fever. Though I didn’t feel great, it was an OK day. I stayed home, slept and read. It was a nice quite day with few visitors which never happens.

Tuesday I felt much better and intended to do the usual and get some work done, but it rained ALL day. So, I spent another day at home. I was able to get in some good studying time :)

I don’t remember what I did Wednesday…2 weeks is a long time to remember. I think all I did was meet with my VEO for a few hours and prepare for my meeting the next day…?

Thursday, I lead another meeting where I interviewed some of the villagers for the report I am going to be writing. The meeting went well; it was the least eventful of the three I have had. This meeting just consisted of me asking questions about the village and getting their opinions about some possible areas of improvement…no activities this time. But I got good answers and about 17 people came, so it was a success!

Friday of that week, I went to Tanga! Saturday was Halloween and since there are few volunteers in my area to meet up with, I treated myself to one night at the ‘American’ hotel in Tanga. I got to the hotel about 11am on Friday morning and checked-in. When I got to my room, I was SO excited I could hardly contain myself!! I had a real shower, TV, a big bed w/o a mosquito net, a balcony over looking the water, and electricity! WHOO HOO! The first thing I did was take a shower…not the warmest water, but it wasn’t out of a bucket which was quite nice. After a cleansing shower, I went to the restaurant and had lunch. Yup! They have ‘American’ food. I had a cheese burger and french fries. It was DELCIOUS. Of course, I followed it with chocolate ice-cream, YUM. After lunch, I headed to the pool. I basked in the sun, went swimming, read, and napped. It was glorious; I had the best time! Then came another shower, followed by dinner. I had ‘steak’ which wasn’t an American style steak, but it was meat and I was happy. It had a peppered sauce on it and came with french fries and veggies. They also had one American beer (Heineken), so I had to have one or two of those also. Tasty. When I got back to my room, I watched TV! And it was actually in English…I watched an episode of Lie to Me and the Tyra Banks Show, and the movie Music and Lyrics. Mmmm…good times!! I stayed up late, savoring the moment. Saturday morning, I relaxed and got breakfast. I ate so much! They had a continental breakfast of cereal, yogurt, cold milk, papaya, watermelon, pineapple, juice, toast, and then I also ordered spanish eggs (eggs with green peppers, onions, and tomatoes). Ah, I’m getting hungry just thinking about it! Check out was at 11am; I hung out in my room until then and watched a little more TV. I was going to go to the pool again, but I was already a little red from the day before haha. After checking out, I stayed and read at a table over looking the water. Of course, I ordered lunch before leaving…grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. A good way to end my trip!

When I returned home, I was SO HAPPY to see my kittens. It had been our first night apart. I missed them soo much!

Sunday, I went to church. I had prepared a health lesson about Drugs, Alcohol, and Consequences/Making good decisions. I was so nervous! It was 3 pages (all in Swahili) and I read it in front of about 50+ people. They also wanted me to read from the bible (a different person reads every week). Though nervous, it turned out great! Everyone was happy with the lesson and afterwards many of us went to the Pastor’s house for tea and a snack. Good day :)

Monday and Tuesday, I cleaned up my back yard and started a little garden. But now the garden is no more…my kittens and the chickens destroyed it. Oh well, it was fun to work in the yard and in the sun!

Wednesday…brought a visit to the Primary School I had not yet visited (my village has 2 primary schools). Everyone was very welcoming and I met more teachers about my age. They were incredibly nice and I was able to sit in on 4 classes. I stayed the whole day and walked home with the teachers. On the way home, one of the teachers showed me where she lived and invited be to visit anytime. I have been going to a Christian church with my VEO; its close and I can find it. The Catholic Church is a further walk and with my lack of sense-of-direction, I don’t remember where it is after only visiting once. She is Roman Catholic too and also invited me to walk with her to church on Sunday. YAY.

Yesterday (Thursday) was a nice day because the Peace Corps visited me! They are doing site visits this month and they came to my village yesterday morning. They came to check on me and make sure everything is going smoothly. I showed them around my village, they met my VEO and WEO, checked my house, I filled out an evaluation, and we chit-chatted about what I had been working on. All was good; they said I was progressing very well. I also told them that my Swahili still sucked, but they were optimistic and said not to worry! (This coming from people who know Swahili…I’m not so sure). In total, they stayed about an hour. After they had left, I went to a village meeting that had just started. As expected, it lasted 4 hours, no breaks. Other than being bored and not understanding most of what was said, it was a good meeting.

After the meeting, I anxiously returned home to open the boxes that the Peace Corps had dropped off when they visited. The boxes had been sent to the main office while I was in training and had got stuck in customs, but I finally got them!! Then I made Mac & Cheese for dinner, my fav!

Today, I am in Muheza. Doing the usual…breakfast, bank, posta, internet, market, then back home. No plans this weekend, other than church. I will probably rest, study, and do some much needed laundry.

Weather update – During the day, it has been 90+ degrees everyday!! SO hot! I love it! However, when it’s still in the 80s at night, it makes it a bit difficult to sleep.

Frik and Frak – cute, Cute, CUTE! And if it wasn’t for them there might be a few cockroaches and a tarantula still roaming about my house. They are great company!

Whew, I think this is my longest blog yet?! But I think that is all I got :) I am trying to get pics up on facebook right now, but so far, no success. The electricity has already gone off and come back on once…may not be able to get any up till next week.

Also, thank you to everyone who has sent me packages, letters, emails, facebook messages. As you can tell, things are going well here. Though things are tough at times, I am keeping busy and feeling more comfortable here. But home is still always on my brain, so I love hearing from everyone and getting a little taste of home!

XOXO, Jessie

HELLO EVERYONE!

Things are as usual here in Tanzania :) Last week went well and this week is too. Monday and Tuesday, I went to the primary school again. They were having outdoor activities both days. I watched them compete in running, net-ball, and soccer. It was fun, but also (like everything else) very unorganized. It was rainy and sunny both days. I got a little sun-burnt, but now its turn into a tan. My farmers tan is becoming more and more defined haha.

Wednesday, I visited the health clinic and interviewed the doctor and nurse for my report I am going to have to write. They were my first 2 interviewees. They were super nice, but it is also a bit difficult to conduct an interview when you don’t really know the language, oh geez. I am going to interview a few more people next week and then I have a meeting set-up to interview several people at once, as a group. That will be awesome because I will be able to get a lot of people done at once and collect a lot of information in one meeting! YAY.

Thursday, I pretty much hung out at home. I got several buckets of water that day because I did laundry (hadn’t done it in a while). It took me, like, 2 hours and a lot of water and energy. You never really realize how much water you use until you have to carry every ounce of what you use on your head! Hehe. In the afternoon, I studied Swahili and wrote a lesson about health/drugs and alcohol/making good decisions. The church wants me to give health lesson on Sunday of next week. I am super nervous because it’s going to be in front of about 30+ people and I speak Swahili so slowly still. But they said not to worry and that it will be good practice. And I think someone is making food too?!

Today is Friday…and I came to town again! Fun! I’m doing the usual…got breakfast, went to the post office, and now I’m at the internet café. Later, I am hoping to get an ice-cream again (last week, the electricity was out so the ice-cream was melted). I am also going to stop at the market and get some fruits and vegetables to make some yummy food this week :)

On the Frik and Frak front….they are as cute as ever. I love having them around…I could stare at them all day! However, they have thoroughly done a number on my mosquito net, so now there are so many holes it’s almost pointless to use. Last night, I got 3 bug bites! They like to climb up it and play on it. No matter how many times take them off of it, they don’t get it and go right back. Also…I have discovered they like peanut butter (they really are my kittens!). Every time I get out the PB, they are all over me. Except they don’t like bread, go figure?! Even if I put jam, PB, or butter on it, all they do is lick it off. They are so silly! Its ok for cats to have PB, right?! Cuz they sure do love it

Tomorrow, I plan to relax…I have been kinda sleepy this week (getting up with the sunrise is exhausting, too early!). And of course, I will study Swahili.

Sunday should be pretty cool. We have our village elections, so I am going to hangout at the village office with my VEO and see how things work. I have been to several village meetings, which can get exciting, so it should be pretty entertaining.

All in all, things are going well here. Still always thinking about home, but the time is going by surprisingly fast. I can’t believe I will have been here 4 and half months at the end of October. At the same time, when I think I still have 22 more months to go, it doesn’t seem like it is going fast at all. It’s so weird! This is hands-down the hardest thing I have ever done. I know I can do it, but I also know I will be looking forward to returning to the comforts of America when I am done. GO USA!

Short story: so I went to go buy some tomatoes the other day at a duka (‘store’). And right next to the table was a goat…hanging upside-down by its rear legs, head hanging on by a little piece of flash, getting skinned, YUM. What did I do?! I said hello to the fella skinning the goat, bought some tomatoes, and went about my day as usual in Tz :)

Random facts:

- There was a cockroach in my ‘bathroom’ last night. I do not like cockroaches.

- Also, turns out I strongly dislike farm animals, particularly goats, chickens and roosters. There is a chicken that comes in my house everyday to eat my kittens’ food and I have to chase after him and shoo him out of my house. As for the roosters and goats, they are just dumb. They bah and kok-a-doodle-doo at all hours of the day and night with no regard to those who are sleeping. Good thing I have earplugs :)

- My training group started out with 36 people, now there are 28 of us left. Eight people have quit and have returned home to the states.

- I have discovered a new fruit…I think its called ‘Fenness.’ Not sure if I spelled it correctly, but it’s tasty.

- There is a spider on the wall behind me.

- My papaya wine is SO good.

- I only have 6 more weeks until training in December and I get to see my friends, YAY.

- I am uploading more pictures on FB right now!

Well, I think that’s all I got today. Things are coming along and I am getting into a bit of a routine, which is nice. It will be even better in January when I can start teaching. I will have a consistent schedule and won’t have to try to fill 5 days a week with things to do.

LOVE YOU ALL AND CAN’T WAIT TO PARTY IT UP WITH YOU ALL IN APRIL

Xoxo, Jessie

I just uploaded 14 pics on facebook! OMG, it worked...finally!! Love you all!

Well, it has only been 7 days since I last posted, but I have come to town again, so here I am back in the internet cafe, yay!

Already, I have a had a good morning. I got to town about 7:30a, stopped at the market and bought some green peppers and cucumbers. Then I finally found this one store I was told about and they had peanut butter!!! What?! Yup, I bought the biggest jar :) I also bought some toilet paper, bleach, 2 big plasic cups, and cooking oil....ya know, the must-haves haha. Then I went to my usual cafe (Kilimanjaro Cafe) and had some breakfast of milk, chipati, and beans again. So far, this has been a good and successfull trip to town :) Now, I am at the internet cafe and later headed to the posta, whoohoo!

When I came to town last week on friday, I picked up some packages at the posta! I got 2 boxes, 3 padded envelopes, and 1 postcard from CA!!!! I couldnt stop smiling in the posta!! The mail-ladies thought I was pretty funny....I had come to town with a small backpack and left with a full duffel bag of stuff. I had to carry it all back to my village...my shoulder was sore for 2 days haha. When I got home, I put everything on my bed to look through; it was like Christmans! I was so excited, I was overwhelmed with American goodness. I had gotten food, candy, magazines, books, etc. It was so much fun! Then for dinner I made hamburger helper (w/o hamburger, but w/ tomatoes and onions...yup still a vegetarian), read a People mag, and then finished with dessert of oreo sticks. Pure bliss :)

Anyway, last week started out a little rocky but ended pretty well (esp fri...posta day!) and this week is going great :) Saturday I volunteered to help with a community project. We carried dirt from one location to the Secondary School. They are going to finish building a part of the school and will use the dirt to make cement. I personally carried 6 buckets of dirt on my head! Later that day, my next door neighbor and her granddaughter came over to help me mop my floors. Apparently, my floors were very dirty (coming from a women who lives in a mudhut?!)....funny thing tho, when we were finished, it looked the same! Silly. Sunday, I went to church, hung out at home, did some laundry, relaxed. It was a nice weekend :)

This week, I visited the Primary School again. I went both monday at tuesday morning and stayed until early afternoon. I sat in on some classes and visited with the teachers. I took them some candy from America and they loved it! I have such a great time there. In the afternoon, I returned home to study swahili and had some students visit to practice English and Swahili. Yesterday, I started my day by talking with a friend of mine who is up north in Tz. We talked for 2.5hrs, just venting and chit-chatting about all the craziness that is Tanzania haha. That afternoon, I met with my VEO in the village office. She edited my notes for my next meeting and we wrote out 'memos' inviting people to my meeting on Friday. I'm excited; I hope it goes well! I going to bring some candy to the mtg too.

Kitten news...turns out they like hamburger helper, top ramen, and white chedder cheez-its too :) I dont know how they know, but even if they are outside playing, they can always hear me open the cheez-its bag and come running, ready to attack until I share...they crack me up :) Also, they brought me a present...a cute, yellow, fluffy, chick...dead. They put it under my bed for me :) I had noticed that one of the ducks that often visits my backyard had a trail of new babies with her the past few days...then sadly, one ended up under my bed :(

Alrighty, I think that is about it for now. I am going to head to the posta now...I am so excited to see whats there! I love mail. Mail, mail, mail :)

OH YA! And last friday, on my mile walk from the posta to the bus stand with my big bag , I found a little store that sells ice cream!! Yay, I stopped and rested and had a little cup of vanilla icecream. It was pre-packaged but it was pretty good. I think I am going to get another one today. I also bought a COLD bottle of water, mmmm.

XOXO, Jessie

It's October! I am pretty excited about this and not entirely sure why because it doesnt even feel like October since it's still hot and getting hotter :) We are also going into the rainy season, which I am also excited for (again, I don't know why b/c I have always hated the rain haha), so it is very humid. It was nice to wake up to rain yesterday on the 1st of Oct. It sounds cool on my tin roof; it is really loud.

I didnt read my last blog before I started writing this one, so hopefully I don't repeat myself! Things here are good...today I have come to town (the smaller one, closer by). I had breakfast when I got here at a little cafe...I had tea w/ milk, chapati, and beans. I stop at the cafe when I get into town because I get here at about 7:30a...so I hang out until the offices open up. Now, I am (of course) at the internet cafe. Just checking my email, writing this blog, charging my ipod & phone, and I am going to try again to upload pictures (but we all know how that goes haha). I hope it works!! Then I am headed to the Post Office!!!! For which I could not be more excited! I called weds and they said have packages waiting there, YAY. Its going to be the 1st mail I get at my new PO box, so I hope everything has arrived safe and sound.

I am doing well at my site. I have 2 kittens now and have finally named them..Frik and Frak. They are super cute and keep me company and make me laugh often. They are always play fighting and are hilarious. They are so funny too because they love the weirdest food, like papaya, jam, pasta sauce, and pretty much anything else I am eating because they meow until I share. They double team me, I cant help it, they are too cute to say 'no' to.

NEW PLAN! I plan to visit home in April for Easter (and Xmas 2010), I am SO excited! I still get pretty homesick, so I am really looking forward to it. I wish it was closer.....with halloween, thanksgiving, and xmas coming up soon, its going to be tough. I forseen many conversations with my kittens haha. But for now I am just going to try my best and hopefully things will get better with time. I dont want to make any rash decisions about coming home until I know for sure it is the right decision. I certainly do NOT regret coming here; I have always wanted to join the Peace Corps and even if I cant make it the whole 2 years at least I gave it my best! Better to try something new than to regret never having tried it! Right!?!

Anyhoo, I do really like it here but the culture is quite different and the language barrier is driving me crazy. My swahili is still slowly coming along, but I still get laughed at all the time because I still dont understand a lot. However, I have been visiting the Primary School in my village and I like hanging out there very much. I hadnt visited since the first week or so here. The teachers there are very nice and welcoming. They love when I visit and say that my swahili is getting much better, which has been nice to hear. They cant wait until I start teaching and said I am welcome to visit anytime. There is a definate shortage of teachers in Tz and my village is no exception. They are 100s of students and a handfull of teachers. As long as my swahili gets better and I can tough it out through the next few months, I plan to start teaching in January. I cant wait! I will enjoy teaching there!

I have also started making my own wine :) yum! We got the receipe from previous volunteers...pretty much every volunteer here makes their own wine haha. I made mine with papaya! It takes 3 weeks to ferment (sp?), so I have about 2 more weeks until its ready. Its gona be yummy!

I lead my first meeting with the village a few weeks ago...not sure if I mentioned this in my last bog? It went really well, all things considered. We drew maps of the village and made a needs assessment chart of the village. About 20 people came and it went smoothly. I made notecards of what I was going to say and it went much better than I expected. I was so nervous! I think I am going to conduct my next mtg next week. We are going to do a seasonal calendar and a daily schedule of what their typical day/year looks like and what their typical tasks are...im nervous again haha. After that, I need start individual interviews with villagers and groups within in the village. From there, I will write at least a 5pg report (IN SWAHILI) of what I think the village needs and where I think I can help. We take the report to our training in December...which I am super stoked for because then I can see all my friends again! Whoohoo!

I am trying to ponder what else there is to say?? ...Here is an interesting note: since I have been at my site (40+ days), I have not eaten meat...yes, I have been a vegetarian for a month and a half! And I am not happy about this! But I am still alive...turns out I can live without rare steak, go figure?!?!

There were also 2 frogs in my shower area yesterday evening...a big one and a little one. I told them I would come back later...

My hair is curly again too! It is finally back to its natural state, since being ill-treated this past year :)

Ok, now I am just rambling haha ;-)

With love, Jessie

Whew, I cant believe it has already been 2 weeks since i got to site, Crazy! Everything is still going very well, though I do get homesick sometimes, write to me! I have updated my address; I now have a PO Box close to me, yay :)

Don't feel obligated to send me anything, but for those who have asked me what I would like, here is a list:

Any powdered beverages - gatorade, crystal light

Candy - peanut m&ms, mambas, sour patch kids, starburts, i like it all

Any books that you think I might like - i have a lot of time to read after the sun goes down, not much else I can do haha

Any mailable snacks - boxes of crackers, cookies, trail mix, etc

Boxes of dry noodle-ish food - hamburger helper, mac & cheese, oatmeal, anything that just takes boiled water or a couple ingredients...im already tried of cooking over fire (takes FOREVER)...but boiling water is easy :)

Candles - there is not a scented candle in this country and I do a lot by lantern and candle light

Babywipes

Floss, toothpaste..

Dry sause mixes

Hand sanitizer

Bandaides and anti-itch cream for my constant battle with bugbites, geez

Cream of tarter (for playdough for the kids)

School supplies - crayons, markers, construction paper, chalk!, etc

Seeds - flowers, veggies, fruits...

And anything else you think I might like; I do really love getting mail :)

Ok, so I am trying to upload pics on facebook right now. I have already been here 3 hours and am running out of time. I hope I can get some up but the interent is not being kind and I am going to run out of time soon. But I will do my best to get some up today and, if not, I will try again next time (might be a month tho, just warning you haha).

Love you all so much and I cant tell you how much I miss all of you and the comforts of the states. Thank you for all your constant support; It means so much to me :) Jessie

Ok, so my last days at my home stay were fantastic! The village had a party for us which was wonderful. We ate, danced, our fams made speeches, we had a great time :) Then after the party, my fam and i went back to our house and the party continued! i had no idea, it was a surprise! We had more food and soda. They gave me gifts for my new house, cups, bowls, a beautiful hand woven mat, dishes, and a handwoven fan (hand held). We had the best time and we took pictures too. They also made me a dress for the occasion :)

The party was on sunday the 19th, then on monday the 20th we all went to Dar for 4 days. That was also fun but also a bummer because we had to say goodbye to eachother. Since we all wer going to our own sites, we r not going to be able to see eachother very much. But eventually we will be able to visit eachother :) So, while in Dar we had our swearing in ceremony. It was awsome!!!! We went to the ambassaders house, which was beautiful! To begin the ceremony, speeches were made by our country director, peace corps, the ambassader, 2 of us volunteers, we gave a little performance, we were sworn in by the ambassader, then the reception :) For the reception, we mingled and talked to various govt officials, returned PCVs, had soda, beer, juice, and wine. Then we had dinner which was good, the usual but good, except there was cake and icecream, SO tasty!! Then to finish up the night we danced to the live band which played tanzanian and american music, we danced SO much, we had such a nice time. It was a great way to spend our last night together as a training class :)

Now im at my new site!! Which is perfect! I am still in muheza town, tanga region which i love. My village is surrounded by lush greenery, palm trees, farms, and next to a little mountain...its beautiful. And i now have my own house. Its nice to have my own space :) I am def happy to be cooking for myself again, i can make american-ish food and eat healthier than i have been at homestay. I cook over a fire, its kinda like camping every day haha. My house is really nice for a tz house, I was super excited. It has 3 rooms, my bedroom, kitchen room, and a spare room. I also have a pretty big living room too. My bathroom and shower room are in my backyard/courtyard, they r nice too, clean. My courtyard is enclosed by a fense made of palm tree leaves, its pretty cool. My house is made out of mostly brick and cement and i have many windows, they have screens but go directly outside :) I have no running water but i can get it from the house next door, they have the community water source. I was so happy to find out it was close to me so i dont have to carry it far. I also dont have electricity, which i dont mind, its sunny during the day and i have a latern for when its dark. My day pretty much revolves around sunrise and sunset :)

My village its full of very nice people. My VEO and WEO (village executive officer and ward EO) are both women and very nice and helpful. I have schools, a dispensery, and hospital near by which i can work at. For the first 3 months i basically hang out in my village and get to know it and its people. I also do an assessment and write a report (in swahili) about the village to determine what they may want and need from me. In dec we have training again for 2 wks and when we get back we start teaching, begin projects, etc.

So thats whats going on these days with me in tz :) Its pretty cool here, im very happy. Some days r harder than others, its super cool here but still very different, but no worries most days r really good and they just keep getting better :)

Things i miss - the fam of course, cold beverages, cold anything really, rare steak, my mamas cooking, washing machines and dryers, GOOD chocolate, and running water haha

Lastly, this morning i saw a rainbow. It was unbelievably pretty. It was right over the mountain, sunny and light rain :)

luv, Jessie

first things first..today on a leisurly bus ride 8 hours inland i saw....giraffes, zebras, monkeys, wildabeasts, cranes, and warthogs! yup, pretty much one of the coolest days. And I will prob see them all again when we drive back to the coast. Hopefully, I will be able to get better pics, since I am on a moving bus haha.

Next, everything is super cool! Not gona lie, it has definatly been an emotional roller coaster, but all is good. Everything is new, challenging, and wonderful all at the same time.

So, my host fam is the best! Seriously, they are soo cool. I have a very big family and I have really enjoyed staying with them. They were super excited to find out yesterday that my permenate site is in the same district as them and my training site (muheza district, tanga region....if u wana look it up).

Yup, so im not getting placed to far from where I am now. Its a nice area; i like it. Its a pretty cool spot too because im close to the coast, close to the capital (where i can easily pick up anyone who visits me..hint hint), and im in the middle-ish of the country so i can go visit my friends and travel north to mt kilimanjaro area or down to the deep south. My house is next to a health clinic and i will being primarily working there with doctors, nurses, PLWHA patients, and mothers/babies. Im also close to primary and secondary schools, so i will be helping there too. Im super excited. We will be going to our sites Aug 20th...soon! whoa!

The only downfall at this point is that when we all go to site, we are all gona be spread out over the whole country :( I have made some bitchn friends here and its gona be a bummer to say 'see ya later' soon....but there its def a reason to travel and we all have places to stay everywhere :)

Food....oddly enough they have a lot of spices and a variety of food but not a lot of people take advantage of it. The food is def good, just not a lot of change. But i can ensure you all that once i get to my site and start cookn for my self, im gona make some pretty tasty food over my charcole fire, yay!

Lets see, anything else?! mmm, well my standards of personal hygine have slightly gone down haha. B.O. is totally OK here, havnt got there yet, but ya never kno, i am here for 2 yrs. Oh, my feet are pretty much orange-ish/red-ish all the time from the red dirt. I think its permanate. I have a weird farmer-like tan that will prob only get weirder since the dress is pretty conservative here, I have to stay relativly covered...no tanks or shorts. Im also excited to get to site, so I can workout...ie, run, etc. on a regular bases. I have been walking a lot but i also do a lot of sitting right now in lang and tech classes 6 days a wk. Yes, im workn on gettn pics posted, but let me tell you it can be an epic batlle here w their computers and internet, its no easy task. Also, my fam has made me some beautiful dresses, i absolutly luv them!

Last thing, i could def come home right now after only 1.5 months and be a 1,000 times more appritiative of what we have in the states. Seriously, we have more than we could ever need. It is def something to recognize and appriciate.

Ok so i think that is it :) If there is anything I missed, let me know. Oh and..ignore the miss-spelled words :) xoxo

i just got internet on my phone! i know, crazy, tech is amazing these days! this is soo cool bc interent is the HARDEST thing to find here and is sooo unreliable and beyond the definition of slow haha. anyhoo so i will be able to update my blog and check my email more often now :) things r still good... more to come soon xoxo

i am really doing great!!!!!!!!!!!! food, great!!!!! everyone is soo nice and friendly and we have started learning the language which is gona be hard but very cool. it is def going to be harder work than i expected but i know i can do it!! yay! i am def loving the weather too, hot hot hot. its wondreful. and the other volunteers i am with are cool. we are a great group. i cant believe it has only been not even a week, its weird. and tues we r going to our host families. we also get to go to town sunday so maybe i will get a phone..maybe...and we r getting some wraps like the the women wear here...i am so excited to dress like them, they wear such pretty dresses. anyway i have to get to language class soon....oh i got 4 vaccines today...rabies, hep A, heb B, and menigitous...im all pumped of drugs haha.

also there is peanut butter here, havnt seen or had it yet, but apparently it is everywhere, YAY!!

sorry this wasnt much, im out of time but i will write again as soon as i cant and give u guys more details! luv j

Hello Everyone!!

So I am in Philly; it has been great! I got here last night, checked into my hotel, and met a lot of people. There are 36 of us volunteering…my roommate at the hotel is quite cool; she’s Italian, all about family, is a really good sleeper like me, and loves dessert…YAY. About our group: half of us are doing health and the others are doing agriculture. Everyone has been great and I have really enjoyed my time already. Today was pretty easy…we were able to sleep in, get lunch (Philly cheese steak sandwich), got registered, and then we had 4 hours of orientation. After that we went out for a great final dinner (rare steak…then gelato). And to end our night in the states, some of us quickly went over to the ‘Rocky steps’ and ran up them just like him…cool! Not too bad of a dayJ. Though, tomorrow we start the day early with getting some vaccines and then start our trip to Tanzania. It is going to be a very long day!! After we get to the country, we start the all the training that I explained in the last blog…crazy times! Note: I should have internet access (a little) when I first get to Tanzania, but then there may be a couple weeks where you do not here from me…but do not worry, I’m ok!

All in all, I am doing fabulously! I am quite happy besides missing all of you. I have met some great people and everything has gone very smoothly! Luv, j

I have no idea how the time has past so quickly...6 weeks to 5 days, what?!

Okay, so here is my schedule as I know it:

I leave Sat June 13th for Philly and will officially be a Peace Corps Trainee (PCT). There we all meet as a group and we have Pre-Departure Orientation. Then on June 15th we leave for Tanzania, via stops in New York and Amsterdam.

Once we get to Dar es Salaam (the capitol) in Tanzania we will have 9 weeks of training. We will primarly be at The Ministry of Agricultural Training Institute (MATI), which is located in the village of Mlingano. It is a secluded place with a farm atmosphere providing a unique environment for learning Kiswahili and other key aspects of living in rural Tanzania. Our training covers language, health, cross culture, safety and security, technical training, and home-stay information. The training will take place all day Monday thru Friday and half days on Saturdays. During our 7th week of training, we will have a chance to shadow a Volunteer and experience true PCV life. Lastley, during the final week we will do an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and address all administrative issues and policies. If all goes well, I will be sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) and sent off to my location for 2 years!!

Nothing exciting going on here. I'm still in WA... figuring out how to set up my blog and getting ready to leave :)