The Last Few Weeks

I loved every one of the people that I met in Zanzibar, and every part of the experience. It actually was a lot of hard work, but in paradise with these wonderful people it really didn't feel like I was working much at all.

Kizimkazi Cultural Music Festival is an annual music festival meant to encourage protecting the environment. It has local, cultural artists, as well as, this year, international.

The people I've worked with before and after say I seem to love life more since Kizimkazi. I'm happy all the time and I almost never stop singing (which, they say they haven't gotten sick of [yet]). My friends say I should be a theater major (and I am considering a minor, actually). So much happened in Zanzibar, and I think I did change. I've been trying to write about Kizimkazi for weeks now, but I have no idea what to say. I think I will leave it out of the blogosphere for now--let us skip ahead.

After the New Year, a group of (mostly nursing) students came from Salisbury University. That was interesting. We were used to working with two or three other volunteers, and suddenly, there were fifteen! They were a lot of fun though; just bummed they were only here for two weeks.
We spent the last two weeks camping out in villages. The first week was in Mtu-WaMbu (Mosquito River in Kiswahili). It lived up to its name. There's a picture of my foot on my Picasa... 20-something bites--one ankle. This was my first time teaching the Sustainable Agriculture part of the program. My orientation was a little rushed, so the other people did most of the teaching and I studied a little. But I got to dig! Which is actually what I have been most excited for. It really does feel good to just get down and dig a 3-foot deep hole, 1.5x6 meters.
We met a kid named John who is 14; he makes bracelets and such to pay for school. He gave one of the girls some really nice gifts for her birthday, so we love him. They put together a package and are planning on sending him stuff, I think. And we bought a lot from him to help him out.

Last week, we were camping in Ngurdoto. No cell phone reception. Oh snap! We vaccinated chickens! It was actually a lot of fun, chasing them to put drops in their eyes. We started at 6:00 am, so the chickens wouldn't be far from the homes. Good times... So sleeping in this weekend is amazing.
Starting at 6 meant we finished early, and we didn't have much to do in the afternoons. So, we played with the children from the villages for hours. I learned that I'm not a very good soccer goalie, and we played a lot of frisbee with them too. It was great times. Now I'm back in Arusha for one week, and then back to camping (I think). I'll be camping without cell reception for about three weeks and I may or may not be back on weekends.

But I will keep in touch! Miss you all!