bye for now watoto...hello best month ever!

Neema.
Originally uploaded by ddboo

So now we are in Arusha..the base for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. I have 2 main things to cover here so if you’re more interested in part one than part 2 ...feel free to scroll down and vice versa. Cause I have the feeling this is going to be looong. I will try to make it short...we all know how good at that I am.

Chapter 1: First and foremost, the kids.

We finished our 6 weeks at the orphanage last Friday. We decided to go back in July as the volunteers that were scheduled for the two spots cancelled (yay for us!!). Needless to say we were really glad not to have to say goodbye. Saying goodbye for three weeks was painful enough.

The week before we left, other volunteers had arrived so we weren’t needed to teach anymore. We spent most of the week figuring out donation money and doing arts and crafts with the kids, as well as a games day. Arts and crafts day was one of the most fun and most frightening days of my life. Imagine 40 kids, a huge box of glitter glue, paint (thank god it was wash-off-able), feathers, markers, paper, scissors, pipe cleaners and crayons. Then imagine just me and An there to supervise. I seriously don’t think these kids have ever seen these types of materials, they went mad. Some of the kids spent the whole day working on one piece until it was perfect..some grabbed a piece of paper and poured glue and paint all over it, then moved on to the next project. The best was the finger painters though. There was more paint on tables, floors, clothes and skin than all the paper in the house. This went on for about 6 hours. The kids would make something...line up to show you just to hear us say "zourie sana!" (very good!) Then throw it on the ground and carry on. Occasionally there would be some fighting over a glitter pen or something but hey..they are kids. The amazing part was the cleanup. Once all was said and done, An and I started to clean up. Within seconds all the kids had joined in and started cleaning, the mess was gone in less than 5 minutes.

The next noteworthy point was the pizza party / dance party sleepover. We ordered 25 large pizzas from town and hooked up some speakers to our iPod. The kids had never had pizza before. I would say about 50% of them really loved it and others weren’t quite sure what to do with it. Some picked off the top and ate only the toppings, others did the complete opposite. Strange to realize that some of these kids prefer small fried sardines to pizza! After the pizza we broke into a huge dance party lasted the duration of the evening (these kids can shake it like its no ones business)..We had planned on painting all the girls toenails, in proper sleepover fashion, but the party went on to long and all the kids were pooped by the time we crashed. The next day we did the nail painting - even the boys wanted to partake! We let the kids paint our nails too..of course it was a complete mess but the girls really loved it.

On our very last day, we had a "games day" we bought eggs for an egg in spoon race, made water balloons, had 3 legged races, wheelbarrow races and a huge impromptu water fight. When we got there that day the kids ran up to the gate to see us as they usually do. They all walked us into the house - set up for An and I were 2 seats with white sheets over them and a sign hanging over the seats saying "thank you Denise and Andrea". There were balloons hung all over the place and Gloria had got some beef and made Pilau for us (an excellent African rice dish) it was amazing! They totally surprised us! Then on with the festivities of the day...games.

After lunch we had the water balloon fight which was so funny. The kids tried so hard not to drop them and screamed their heads off when they did...this resulted in some kids going to fill up cups of water to throw at their partners, the next thing we know a huge water fight had broken out. We had some cupcakes tubs of icing, jelly beans and smarties. They all decorated their own cupcakes and ate them. We left Joel and Gloria with 40 kids on a serious sugar high, although I am sure they slept like babies by 7pm that evening.

So here is what happened with all the donation money. Between An and I, we raised $3100 which is a new record for the orphanage!! Thank you all so much. This is what we bought:

- 10 School and English reading books for the older kids
- Supplemented what was needed for them to have the wiring done so they can have electricity
- 1 years worth of rice
- Medication for the head fungus that all the kids had when we arrived (its now gone)
- 2 malaria tests and treatment
- 1 HIV test (that was negative!!)
- 17 pairs of second hand black school shoes
- 9 mosquito nets
- 7 new mattresses
- 1 chicken dinner with soda
- 1 pizza and nail polish party
- 1 basketball net for the yard
- Printed pictures of all the kids and hung them on the bare walls in their bedrooms
- Sodas for the beach day
- Supplies for games day (balloons, 40 cupcakes, 2 dozen eggs)

And there you have it. The biggest ticket items were the rice for the year which was $800CAD and the electricity $850CAD, but also the most important. They run a generator for about 2 hours a night just to have light to eat dinner and you really can’t see anything. I am so excited to come back in July and see them actually have power, it makes a HUGE difference! An and I decided to spend the money 1/2 on "fun" stuff and 1/2 on necessities. We also gave Joel and Gloria enough money to go out to town for dinner and take a taxi there and back because they have sacrificed everything for these kids and really deserve it. The day we went to town to buy all the shoes and everything last week, Joel and Gloria came (they don’t have to pay Muzungu prices) then we went for pizza, even that for them is a big treat..

So the goodbye was sad but not too bad since we will be back. It was strange to see how some of the kids reacted to us leaving. Some were sad, others were pouting in the corner and others were downright angry with us. They volunteer program only started here in January so there not used to saying goodbye yet. We explained that we would be back in three weeks...but the real goodbye that is inevitably looming will be nothing short of tragic.

During our time in Mwanza we made quite a few friends. We got to go to a professional football game (soccer in our world)... it was Senegal vs. Tanzania. We got flags and t-shirts and screamed our hearts off for Tanzania. The game ended in a tie. The funny part was when Senegal tied it up no one booed. I was told later by a Tanzanian that Tanzanian people are too nice to boo. They don’t want to make the other team feel bad or un-welcome. I was shocked but after thinking about it ..it really does suit the culture. The most often used word in this language is Karibu (welcome)..they even say it when you get in a taxi. :)


Chapter 2 - the Serengeti

5 days ago after wrapping things up in Mwanza, An, a couple of volunteers from our sister orphanage and I went on a 4 day safari in the Serengeti and the Ngorogoro crater. It started with us being picked up at out place at 8am and driving 2 hours to the park. This was the first time I have left Mwanza in a month and a half so you can imagine are were pumped to see the rest of the country. We entered the park and the first thing and the last thing we saw was a wildebeest (there are a million, 8000 are born a day during birthing season). Over the course of the 4 days we saw everything anyone would want to see in the Serengeti besides the elusive rhino.

The animals were hilarious, majestic and totally gave me goosebumps. It’s really a dream come true driving around there. Plus all the animals spoke. Actually An made them speak. Her running commentary of what they must be saying to each other or thinking kept us giggling.

The Serengeti is like..well watch the Lion King. It’s just like that. I can’t remember how many times the Lion King was brought up over the past 4 days but I will guess about 1000. It’s absolutely breathtaking. This is something everyone must see in their lifetime. It’s like a different planet or Jurassic Park. Wildebeest are migrating in packs, huge colorful birds are soaring around the skies, zebra are grazing in the grass, hippos are being fat slobs in the swamps, vultures are picking at carcasses, giraffe heads are poking out of the treetops, hyenas are laughing and prowling around and lions and their cubs are sleeping in the trees and on the rocks. It’s all right there to be taken in. Really, truly amazing. The first day it rained but even that was great.. driving through the storm while hundreds of wildebeest run alongside the truck. Anyway you get the idea. The second day was sunny and warm. We saw a cheetah go in for the kill but she didn’t succeed. We were secretly glad for the tiny, frail looking gazelle. But hey...circle of life (Lion King)!!!

So here’s the list of what we saw in no particular order: (Since I am in a list mood today...)

Serengeti
- Cheetah
- Loins
- Giraffes
- Warthogs (which are surprisingly one of the cutest animals I have ever seen!)
- Buffalo (ones with massive horns about the size of a Ford Taurus)
- Leopard (was eating a wildebeest on the side of the road when we pulled up and he hid in the grass)
- Hippos
- Wildebeest
- Baboons
- Ostrich
- Hyena
- Crocodile
- Waterbuck
- Impala

The only things we saw in the crater that we hadn’t seen the Serengeti was elephants, flamingos and allot of Maasai people with their cows and goats. Oh..and allot of amazing birds everywhere whose names I couldn’t remember.

We spent 3 nights and 4 days there. We were camping and had a guide and a chef (named cool banana by the way) with us the whole time. The food was fantastic and it was fun to camp in the wilderness albeit pretty scary at times. We could hear hyenas giggling just outside our tent on the second night and wildebeest grunting on the third. I was afraid out tent was in the path of migration and that would be squash banana for us. The tent was so warm and cozy; I probably slept the best there than I have the whole time I have been in Africa, even with all the bizarre noises and rustling around the tent. Going pee was definitely an issue. We even brought a plastic cup and bag in the tent just in case - there was no way we were leaving after dark with all the racket going on right behind the zipper. Thankfully no one needed it.

So that brings us to now. I have had one of the best experiences of my life in the Serengeti and am about to embark on something that will test my mind and body to the limit. Tomorrow morning at 8am An and I start the 6 day climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro. We have our snow gear all packed complete with ice poles and gators. Keep your fingers crossed we make it.. some people do and some don’t. The problem is the altitude not so much the physical strength, everyone reacts to it differently..so we'll see what happens to us! I have allot of amazing pics from the safari and the kids but as usual the computer / internet connections are sketchy so I will try to do as many as I can..otherwise I will do it in Zanzibar (our reward for climbing Kili!) talk to you then!!

xo

p.s. That wasn't too, too long....was it?

small fish and sleepovers

Hands of Mercy, Mwanza, Tanzania
Originally uploaded by ddboo

Thank you to everyone who donated! Once all the money is allocated and spent I will post a list of what it all went to. So far we bought a years supply of rice, took several sick kids to the doctor for a check up, bought some medicine, bought some chicken and took the kids for a day at the beach on Sunday (which was total madness..they have never been to a beach before...you can imagine).

Life has a good routine here now. Weekends are weekends once again. We get up at 8:00am, have breakfast and head to teach at 9:00am till about noon. Then we go home to eat and come back around 2:00 to teach again for another hour and play for the rest of the afternoon until we decide to go home. In the mornings I teach Grade 2 and Grade 1 in the afternoon. We were going to rotate but once you get to know the kids and there strengths and weaknesses we realize its better to have one teacher.

I have a whole new respect for teachers! in the morning i have Neema (6 years old) who is the queen of procrastination (having to go toilet 10 times in 1 hour) and loves to sing and dance during class, go play with the baby or constantly sharpening her pencil ...sound familiar dad? I also teach Samson (also 6) who is such a eager learner, he does this funny Africa bombata booty shakin' dance whenever he knows the answer and squeals... its so cute. If he doesn't know the answer he yells "acha!" and snaps his fingers...hilarious.

Its really hard to teach english concepts like pluralization or when to use AND or BUT to kids that don't speak engilsh. The best way is props.. but I still can't tell is they actually get it or just memorizing?! All these things we don't think about....our language is really hard to learn!

The kids I teach in the afternoon are in Grade 1. There are 8 of them. We are just learning basics like the alphabet and colours and numbers. Its difficult teaching 8 of them, their attention spans are comparable to that of a fly. I try to make it fun by playing games and letting them write on the board but kids will be kids - they will yell at each other and poke each other with pencils and cheat. They do all go to school, we are just there to supplement the learning and push english. We want these kids to go to high school and get educated and being able to speak english will give them a huge leg up. Also they need help with their homework and stuff.. things which parents usually do.

The kids are teaching me swahili and I am actually picking it up quite easily. Too bad the only people I can talk to are 6 and 7 year olds and say things like "lets play" or "who farted" or "its your turn", "quiet", "sit down", come here"... not so useful in the adult world although i can get myself a bottle of water and count to ten. I can also greet people and use my manners..please and sorry.

The thing that blows me away the most is the willingness to learn that we don't have in our world.. If we decide to skip teaching one day and play games or sports instead they are all disappointed and come over and say "can we please learn?", Its amazing.

The food they eat there is interesting to say the least. We have Ugali which is cornmeal and small fish like sardines that are fried. I have tried the Ugali and its not good. The fish...well I am not that brave yet. I will get around to it though. They also have beans and rice which is yummy. Gloria (mom) is a great cook. One night An and I bought chickens for all the kids and she cooked it for us. It was the best chicken ever....and really, really fresh....the chickens were alive when they brought them home and on our plates an hour later! And the sodas...the kids go bonkers for pop. I couldn't believe the rapid speed in which a child of 2 years old can down a huge soda pop. I am sure there were a few kids wetting the bed that night. After the chicken / soda party An and I slept over. I slept with Hannah and An with Irene. The kids sleep between 2 and 4 to a bed depending on the size. Single beds. Its a squeeze but it works. The sleepover was reminiscent of being 8 and having all my friends over for my birthday and sleeping all over the basement floor. Complete with "Dad" yelling down at us that its time to stop talking and go to sleep. Needless to say we didnt get much sleep that night (Hannah is a kicker) but we had alot of fun! The kids were up at the crack of dawn!

The one downfall is that I have had malaria twice. Its nasty.. Its finally gone now but I have learnt my lesson. I am now going through a bottle of repellent per week!