Day 6

Its day 6 and we have one more day of work before our Safari! I am so excited. We (a group of 9 of us) are being picked up after lunch tomorrow and seeing a mesiah village in the evening. Then we are camping in a national park overnight and waking up to drive to the Ngorongoro. Our guides told us we will definitely see hippos, zebras, rhinos, lions, bufallo, hyenas, and more which is amazing. The animals that are harder to find our ones such as leopards but we are likely to see those as well. Then on saturday night we will sleep on the rim of the crater and wake up and drive to another area with higher trees where we can giraffes and other animals. Then we also are doing camel rides Sunday afternoon before we return which is a little weird but Im very excited!

Other than that my week has gotten better each day and I am feeling really happy about my placement. My kids are all learning my name and I am beginning to see a lot of improvement. The whole process can be frustrating at times and it takes a lot of patience but Im really enjoying it regardless. For instance for some reason all of the children were taught to count 1-20, skipping over the number 16 and going straight from 15 to 17. So for 15 minutes straight today we went over the numbers 15 through 17 so they could remember the correct order. It worked for some but definitely has to be reviewed some more. Then we went to the older classroom of 5 and 6 year olds, which we hadnt spent much time in so that was a fun and new experience. It was also very satisfying and there were a few girls in the class who were so bright and eager to learn. They even asked me to stay with them during recess to work on addition. It was amazing. Ive also discovered a boy at my placement who looks identical to Kanye West but a 3 year old version so that keeps me amused. Working with kids and the three days i have been at the school has also improved my swahili tremendously and I think it will just keep getting better. Teaching seems to be a great way to learn a new language especially when it is a forced situation.

Another activity weve done was go to an orphanage in the afternoon yesterday which i loved! Our van broke down on the way there and we had to push it for a little ha but once we got it started and made it there it was great. We got to sit around and play with adorable babies who were mostly around the age of 1. They were all so sweet and active. When we arrived we also all brought something with us to give them such as various toys, soap, rice, bread, and more in order to help out the oprhanage so im really glad we were able to do that. We spent about an hour and a half there but i could have honestly stayed forever. The babies and other kids were so cute and I feel like it was great that they were getting so much attention. We were told that we are allowed to go back whenever so I will definitely be spending some time there. And while it was really sad to see so many children without homes, each one had its own bed and the orphanage seemed clean so that was uplifting.

All in all things are going very smoothly. Tonight we are celebrating our friends birthday in town and going to see live music. I am interested to see what music is Tanzania is like. And we also decided that we are going to make the staff at the homebase a traditional American meal which will be fun. We are thinking of like macaroni or something. Basically anything with cheese because we are all craving that. Sadly, I already am craving foods and it is the first day. And my chocolate supply which i brought from home is already dwindling but ive seen some in the stores around town so I wont be deprived for too long when i run out ha.

Next time i write ill get to tell all about my safari! Cant Wait!