As of Friday, we’ve made it half way and I’ll be home in 6 weeks. It’s crazy to think of how fast the time has flown. Now that things are normal day to day, it feels comfortable here and like it’s exactly where I’m supposed to be. The social world is picking up quite a bit, so it’s been fun to go out either on the weekends or for a game night on a weekday. Teaching is picking up too. Tomorrow I’ll start full time, and teach full time for 3 weeks and then slowly fade out. I’m a little nervous to go full time, and especially for 3 weeks but I think it’s gonna be good! That’s what I’m here for anyway, so the more I can learn and practice the better.
So instead of updating on everything that has been happening, I’ll give some highlights….
1. Horseback riding and Game night- The girls and I went to a cooperating teachers house to ride horses last week on their ranch/farm. Their house was the most amazing house I have ever seen, and their daughter is the one who runs the ranch and all the horses. After riding, which I loved and eating an amazing dinner we had game night with about 6 other people that came over. It was fun to just relax, eat good food and have a blast playing Pictionary. I forget how much I love playing games, but it was an awesome time.
2. Our professor was here through the week last week and it was exciting to see him. It was great that he was able to fly all the way out here to observe us and make sure everything was going well. He took us to a Tanzanian primary school on Friday as well as a public special school for students with disabilities. Both schools were so eye opening, and it made me just want to stay. The primary school had over 2,000 students….the 1st grade classroom we were in had 75 students in it that we counted! It was insane! The special school was in fairly good shape, not all of the kids were there but it was good to see that these kids were taken care of, at least for the most part. Overall, it was an amazing experience and definitely shaped my perspective on Tanzanian schools. It also makes me thankful that we have the education system we do in the U.S.
3. Last weekend was one of my favorite weekends so far. We went out for dinner Friday night, and on Saturday went into town to the market. The market was insane, full of sights, smells, tastes and sounds that I’ve never heard or seen before. The butchering portion of the market wasn’t my favorite because of the giant bloody carcasses hanging in the open air market….but everything else was pretty good. It was neat to see all the spices being sold in bulk and the hundreds of produce stands with women bargaining their prices. The girls and I ended up buying a bunch of fabric which is great because I’ll have a tailor make me a skirt, and once I get home I think I want to make pillow cases and an apron out of it. We’ll see if I can put my domestic skills to the test! After all the adventure on Saturday during the day, that night we ended up going out to a new bar to try. There was a band playing called Warriors from the East, an African reggae group and one of the most fun live music shows I’ve been to. Sunday was great as well- we went with 2 cooperating teachers out to a look out spot outside of Arusha. It was an amazing view, had a few beers and then went out to lunch at an authentic Tanzanian restaurant. It was delicious….and a good way to spend Sunday J
This weekend has been much more low key. I’m preparing lesson plans and getting ready to go full time next week. Today, Laura and I laid out at the pool and had some friends we met out last weekend come over and hang out (they were from MN…small world!) I’m definitely burned again, sometimes sunscreen just doesn’t cut it but it was worth it for the vitamin D! Tomorrow I’m heading to church and then back to getting ready for the week! I’ll try to post more often so that my posts aren’t as long as this one…but if you’ve made it all the way to the end thanks for sticking it out!
<3
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