My first days in Tanzania...

Hamjambo! I am here, safe and sound! It is amazing and fabulous. The flights here weren't bad as I expected but I did lose 2 days of my life. I left Friday at noon and arrived in Kili late night. But it was all worth it! The other volunteers and staff are so incredible. I have bonded so quickly with them. I will try to add pix at a later time. So let me update you to what I have been up to...

Sunday:
My first real day here and my free time. So a group of 14 of us went on a hot springs tour. We had to travel about an hour to get there. Let me point out now that the roads are dirt and very rocky, so travel is bouncing all around. The best part was that we went rural so I saw some very interesting things. I saw women in beautiful clothing, unusual trees and flowers, termite hills (they are soooo tall here!), homes made of anything and everything. The people are so resourceful and waste nothing! We arrived at the hot springs and it was this area that you would never know was there if you were walking by. It was so beautiful and so secluded. We all jumped in and enjoyed the warm water! After lunch, the tour guides asked us if we wanted to walk around. We all just kind of looked at each other like "where are we going to walk to?". There is nothing around!!! But we agreed and it was the best decision. We walked and walked and walked. You have to remember that it is very open and you can see for miles around. It was a very relaxing walk and occasionally saw a local ride by on his bike. We walked up to this area that a couple of women and children were at doing some work. The women were cutting down branches and the children were playing. It was a great scene! They were so nice, even though we can't communicate with each other. They smiled and we pointed to our cameras. You must get permission to take a picture of an adult here. They nodded. As I am getting the best picture ever, we all hear rustling in the trees. A few feet away are monkeys!!! Oh my goodness! It was amazing. They were jumping from tree to tree. Some of them were huge! I tried to get a picture and video but they were hard to get on camera.

We made it back to our home base later that evening and I hear that there is a bar. The beer gods have found me in Tanzania. No need to worry...Kelli will be having beer! I walked, literally across the dirt path in front of our house to this little shack. That is my "neighborhood" bar. Basically, it's us volunteers there! I have now tried Tanzanian Beer, Kilimanjaro and Tusker. I went to bed that night, with my mosquito net in place, and was woken up at 4:40 in the morning to roosters and dogs. Then at 5:00, the Muslim prayer. It is played over a loud speaker and lasts for approximately 7 minutes. It was amazing to hear. I don't have a clue what was being said but it sounded so beautiful. It was a man singing and chanting. Wow!

Monday:
I had orientation all day. Just learned about schedules, placements, etc. That night, made it back to the "bar" for a few more beers! I had to...we had birthdays to celebrate!

Tuesday:
My first day of placement! I met the women's group who meet on the front porch of Mama Bruno's house. The women were very nice to me and welcomed me into the group. The first hour, Dan, another volunteer, taught them reading in English. The second hour, the three of us volunteers, Dan, Sara, and myself, took a couple of women each and had group time. The women had to have conversation in English. They asked me questions and vice verse. They did so well! There were definitely times that we didn't understand what was being said of each other but they want to learn so badly. They would write new words down and try to learn what it meant. They were awesome. The final hour was business meeting. They are trying to become NGO. They have done all the paperwork but still need to get $300 to pay for the NGO. $300! I know, it is nothing to us but they make under a $1/day here, and $300 is incomprehensible to them. But they had a fundraiser with the last group of volunteers and made $276. We are going to have another fundraiser next week. All of the volunteers from CCS come to it and it is going to be a great time. This group is definitely going to something that I can continue to support for a long time and watch the growth and success of it and the women.

After lunch, we had Swahili lesson and a class on cultural differences. It was interesting to learn things from the locals. As for Swahili, I am getting there! It is a hard language but I've got some basics down! The rest of the afternoon was free time. A group of us walked to Moshi town. It is all dirt roads with a couple of roads that are paved. There is the market and then town. We went to the market first. It is an open area with people selling fruits and vegetables and shoes and tools. Basically, anything you can think of. We then found a part of the market that is indoors. It is the butcher. Yep, we walked in. I can't even tell you how awful it was! There was raw meet from every kind of animal they have here hanging or just sitting, cut up on wooden counters. The smell is nothing I have ever smelled before. It was enough to make us gag. We had a line of us walking through and we couldn't walk fast enough! I kept looking down to avoid seeing the meat but there was blood splattered all over. It was quite the experience and one that I will never forget! We then walked to the town and found a fabric store. I bought some fabric and will have some skirts made for here. They are so beautiful! We found a coffee shop and sat outside in the back garden area. We walked around a little while longer to see the other stores and restaurants. We aren't allowed to take pictures of the town or market. But I can tell you that it is very cramped and people are everywhere and they are so nice to us.

I have been up writing since 4 am, couldn't sleep cuz I went to bed early. Hopefully this all makes sense and I have painted a good picture for you.
Well, I will keep you updated as often as I can. I hope you are all well!