Conditions are never right. People who delay action until all factors are favorable are the kind who do nothing.
William Feather

Hello Everyone,

Once again I have to thank you for your comments. It is so wonderful to hear that you are following this journey, and your empathy reminds me of what an amazing family and group of friends I have.

We returned from safari yesterday. I don't think I've ever been so dirty. Actually, my hair had so much dust that it stood up on its own. The experience in itself was amazing. It was really great to get away for awhile. We visited the Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara. We took a 4x4 that had a pop off roof, so as you can imagine, seeing the animals was both exciting and frightening (at times). We camped both nights, and even ate under the stars. The most interesting part was the armed guard that circulated our camp... We saw elephants, giraffes, lions, many types of monkeys, gazelles etc. etc. It's funny though, how excited I was to come "home" to have a bucket shower. I think I'm getting used to this :)

I have made some wonderful friends in the short time that I've been here. We have bonded quickly as a result of the situation we're experiencing together - I think my girls at Western will understand. One volunteer's name is Pam - a retired principal from Pennsylvania. She is absolutely hilarious. Everynight before bed, Pam puts her hair in rollers and gets in her silk PJs. Suprisingly enough Kara and I convinced her to come with us on safari along with 7 others. She was such a trooper, and although she rolled her hair every night, and kept her Tiffany bracelet on the entire time... she brought a great sense of comic relief to our safari.

During placement today, I taught the girls tailoring vocab. They really liked the pictures that went along with the words. I was working with the 2nd group of girls who are as equally eager to learn as the first group. Although the technology at WAMATA is very very old, I am going to try to create a website. I will work on an HIV/AIDS pamphlet, and we already have orders coming in for the coffee project. The conditions for using any Microsoft Office program are so different, but I'm going to make it happen. I talked with Emanual (one of the program leaders) today, in detail about using the revenue from our fundraising to purchase a desk and school supplies for the girls.

Tomorrow I am going on my first home visit. We will be walking 3km to the home of a woman and her 2 daughters who have HIV/AIDS. I was asked to bring sugar, and flour for bread as a gift.
This afternoon after lunch we have a lesson on the Tanzanian Education System, which should be very interesting.

At night I have been working with Elly - a house keeper at CCS- on her English. I will post a picture of her tomorrow as she holds a special place in my heart.

Time is almost up... so I will write again soon.

"Our Bucket Shower"

"Our Beds"

"Our Room"

PS Congratulations Sam and Rob on your wedding. I'm sure it was absolutely beautiful, and I wish I could have been there. Can't wait to see the pictures :)