Orientation

Waterfall Hike

Hiking Mt. Meru in Arusha

Glory, Nacky and I during the hike

Chapati, beans and cabbage

Mount Kuarra in Babati

Hi Everyone! I've been in Babati for a week now. Everyday has been a great learning experience. In addition to Swahili lessons, SIC had arranged for Gender panel discussions, culture-exchange dialogue and HIV in the community panels for the American volunteers and Tanzanian teaching partners to fully grasp the scope of HIV/AIDS and the stigma surrounding the disease. Our day starts with breakfast at 7AM, then class/prep from 8AM to 530PM. Mama Sia cooks all our food and I've been eating a lot of chapati, beans, rice and ugali. Running water and electricity is pretty irregular here and I always have my flashlight and water bottle handy. In just a few short days, I've really come to appreciate things that I've always taken for granted. Yesterday, I washed my first load of clothes by hand. It is quite a task!!! Glory, a TZ teaching partner showed me the basics of washing, scrubbing and rinsing. She finished her larger load and helped me finish mine. "You'll get used to it." She said with a wry smile.

Today is my day off. So I'm writing, exploring Babati a bit, and resting for the rest of orientation!