Thursday Afternoon

So the first group of people are leaving in two days so we are all preparing to say our goodbyes. I cant believe its been 3 weeks already! Sadly half of our group is leaving, including two of my good friends from Canada. However 27 new people also come this weekend so that will be a lot of fun and me and my current roommate are also moving into the room with our remaining friends so that will be nice to all be together. Anyway tonight we are going out to dinner and a place called Koolbar to celebrate. All of our local friends seem to be going to this Koolbar place at least 3 times a wekk so i am excited to see it.

Since ive last written weve had a pretty exciting week. Tuesday afternoon, I spent volunteering at an orphanage and playing with little babies. Afterwards, we went for a "cultural learning experience" out to dinner and to watch a performance. Therefore we got to eat traditional african food while watching a group of dancers perform in front of us. Interestingly a lot of the show was acrobats mixed with african dancing so it was definitely an engaging combo. After eating and watching the demonstration we all were forced out of our seats and all dragged to the dance floor. At first, we were all awkwardly trying to keep up with the performers but by the end everyone had gotten really into it and had lost all of the angst. It was a lot of fun and our "Mama" and "Baba" had to tell us three times that it was time to leave before we were willing to go. Im sure the people at the restaurant found it hilarious to watch us all dance, which with what my videos later showed, is justifiied.

Wednesday morning we woke up and instead of going to work we went to Arusha for the day. We started our fieldtrip at the Internation Tribunal for Rwandan Genocide and were met past security by a guide. We were supposed to have been able to sit in on a court case where they were interviewing witnesses, however the witness was fearing for confidentiality so we were not able to sit in. Despite that let down, we toured the building and learned that this was the last year that the tribunal would be open so they were trying to get all of the cases finished. We were all told that they have had about 55 cases so far and have caught and tried many of the major criminals from the genocide. This all interested me so much and was especially great for me because I have taken so many classes on the African genocide so felt happy i was informed about it.

After leaving there we went to lunch at a local restaurant, where i had a huge plate of rice, vegetables, and chicken for 3000 shillings, which is less than 3 dollars. Crazy cheap. Then we were taken to a masai market where we were able to walk from tent to tent looking at anything from jewelery to drums to spears. It was a little overwhelming and i had never been hassled so much in my life but i walked away with a few good deals so that was nice.

Our final stop was at a shopping center where we got to go to a huge grocery store and a bakery. We dont have either of those in Moshi so it was nice to be able to get access to that stuff. We got back and i was exhausted so sat down and finished the Kite Runner, which i absolutely loved, and then ate dinner and played games the rest of the night like LCR and Uno.

And then today we went to school and it was another really great day at the nursery. Three teachers were there so the classes were seperated and we were able to give the kids more personal attention. Last night we had written out all of their names in dotted letters and so today the kids were all able to practice writing their names. I feel like it was a great exercise so that was good. Tomorrow might be my last day with the kids if i switch my placements so im kind of sad about that. Im hoping to come up with a good exercise for body parts tonight to do with them tomorrow, that i hope they'll enjoy.

Ok I have to run because my cab is leaving... Bye!