Hello from Boma!

Mambo Jambo!

Scott and I have safely arrived to the Hai district of Kilmanjaro, Tanzania. Our village is very small with all dirt paths and a large market two days a week. We have very modest accommodations at our Cross Cultural Solutions site – a bunk bed with mosquito nets, an open bathroom with a drain and some hot water, and a small closet for our clothes. There are about 15 other volunteers on site with us, most from the US with many in our recently graduate college, and about six others in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. We receive three meals a day with food from the local market prepared by local chefs, so far the food has been great.

The village is great. Our group is also the only michanze – white people in the village -- so our language, clothing, cameras are quite the hit. The people are very kind and always smiling. Trash is burnt on the street and it is not uncommon to see 30 people on a mini-bus.

Although I thought I would be working with women’s rights and Scott expected to be working with a micro-finance organization, we discovered once we got overseas that I would be working with at an orphanage and Scott would be working as a teacher in a primary school. Although we were expecting different placements, it seems that is where the immediate need is in our village so we are keeping a very open mind.

Yesterday was our orientation so we finished up all of our immigration and working permit paper work, took a tour of our village, and took an intro course on Swahili. Our program leaders seem great and that they are going to take great care of us.

Scott has become a very big hit with all of the local boys at a nearby soccer field. They have been playing almost daily and he returns covered with dust and a huge smile. The field is very rocky so it adds a whole new level of difficulty to the game. The goals are also two sticks with a string across the top.

Our first day at our placement sites is tomorrow, so we'll hopefully be able to post again soon with more details and first impressions!

PS I would like to report (thank God) that I do not have a paisley and flower scar on my right hand.

Jambo Jambo! (that means hello hello in Swahili)

I have to say, I LOVE the Swahili language. I am picking it up faster than my high school Spanish. It is such a fun language and there is so much happiness in people’s voices. On Monday morning we arrived from Cairo into Dar es Salam, Tanzania and took a ferry boat ride over to the island of Zanzibar, which is known for its amazing spices, island people, and beautiful beaches. We love it! Zanzibar has some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. The people are wonderful as well – everywhere we go, we seem to experience magic.

We are currently in Stonetown, which has been amazing. The town is an eclectic mix of Arabic, Indian, Asian, and African cultures -- the history, architecture, food, music, and people all reflect this. Today we just wondered and let ourselves get lost in the alleys of Old Stonetown. It was amazing – we discovered the local markets with fresh meats (aka a cow hanging by a coat hanger), spices (spice capital of Africa),traditional meals, and lots of fresh vegetables and fruits including MANGOES (I LOVE mangoes!).

We also toured a a former slave market chamber in what is now a Christian church, which was where most slaves were kept before they were sold during the Slave Trade. It was a very horrific and moving walk through their chambers with five foot ceilings, uneven floors, all concrete and no windows. This was the world's last open slave market where slaves from East and Central Africa regions were bought and sold. Then we went into a Cathedral which was built a few months after slavery was abolished in 1873. The high alter was erected in the same place as the old slave whipping post.




At the end of our afternoon, I decided to get a henna tattoo on my hand. I thought it would be a nice hippie addition to my new cute nose ring. When they lady pulled out her ‘henna ink’ I noticed it was in a black bottle, which made me a bit concerned because I slightly remembered reading that natural henna was only supposed to be brown or red. After discussing my concern in Swahi-glish about black henna being dangerous the artist calmed my fears telling me black henna was very safe. So I finally gave in and let her draw a super cute flower and paisley design down my left pinky and past my wrist. When we got back to our room, I decided to go with my gut and google ‘dangers of black henna’. I was right!! She put poisons on my skin! I felt so dumb for not trusting my gut instinct that it had been very dangerous. Black henna is made with a hair dye that burns the skin chemically—whaaa!! (that is why it is illegal to use in most countries and I now have black hair in various spots on my arm…) So I immediately started scrubbing my skin practically raw to hopefully remove these chemicals from scarring my skin permanently or giving me more skin allergies than I already have. I was very worried because I already have very bad skin and food allergies so I have to carry an epi-pen. Please say an extra prayer that I do not wake up with a flower and paisley rash or scar on my right hand tomorrow.
Anyway on to a more positive subject, tonight we sat on the roof of our hotel playing cards and enjoying delicious fruity cocktails while watching the sunset over the ocean. Then we noticed some festive music and lights coming from a garden next to our hotel, so we decided to go explore. It was a huge festival of local cuisine! We enjoyed numerous meat skewers, fresh sugar cane juice, and a chocolate-banana pizza to finish it all off. Scott loved this because all of the skewers of meat were less than 20 cents.

Tomorrow morning we are planning to take a taxi across the island to a more ‘beachy’ area where we will be able to swim with the dolphins, snorkel, and enjoy the beaches before we head to our volunteer site.

Thank you for all of your many comments and emails. We have greatly enjoyed receiving updates on everyone’s lives!!

At a fort in Alexandria along the Mediterranean Sea. Alexandria was beautiful! And the breeze across the water felt wondeful.

Audrey is really happy that she found an iced tea! Its pretty darn hot and ice-cold drinks can be hard to come by...

Audrey with one of the statues of Pharoah at the Luxor Temple

At the last temple we visited in Luxor at the end of the Nile Cruise

At the "Valley of the Kings"