Safari means Journey 22/7

We have booked our safari with Pristine Trails.  Edward, the owner, has a relationship with CCS. His mother used to work with CCS and from his interactions with volunteers asking what to do he decided to open Pristine.
Here's the plan for the weekend:
Friday afternoon- depart from Home Base at 1:30pm and drive through Arusha to the Maasai camp for an evening visit.
Friday night: Dinner and local entertainment at Haven Nature Safari Camp (think glamping... glamorous camping).
Saturday: breakfast at camp followed by early morning departure for Ngoragora Crater. Back to camp in the evening for dinner.
Sunday: breakfast and early morning departure for Tarangire National Park. Drive back to Home Base in time for dinner.

The Maasai - 22/07

This evening we stopped in a Maasai village just past Arusha. We met Lucas, son of the chief who welcomed us to the village.  We were covered in Maasai cloth for a more authentic experience! There was an initial welcome dance by some members and then we went inside the village for more dancing, a tour of the homes and chance to buy handmade his goods to support the village. A few of the girls were donned in beaded neck pieces when we joined in on the dancing and the guys had a chance to jump with the warriors.
We learned that Maasai diet consists mainly of cow, goat and sheep milk, blood and meat.  Some Maasai eat fruits and vegetables but this particular group do not. 
The variety of beaded jewellery and other items were amazing. I wanted so many things but I ended up choosing two bracelets for myself and coasters for my mom. I had picked up a necklace made from a giraffe hoof that I loved but it was a bit out of my budget. Lucas said because they liked me they wanted me to have it and so he gave it to me!  I was touched by their generosity. All in all it was another great experience!

Day 5 - Bye Bye Baby

Today was my last scheduled day with the babies *cue tears here*... actually not yet!  The school is so small and intimate that I know I'll still see my littlest lovebugs over the next two weeks.  (Only two weeks left?! Anybody else feeling like time is flying by?)
Yesterday evening I went to town in a mission.  My goal was to find toy cars, crayons or markers and tape. I had seen a cute activity on Pinterest where you tape a colouring device to the back of a toy car and let the child "drive" it over paper to make a picture. How cute right? I was thrilled to find everything I needed at Nakumatt (local Walmart-ish type store but on a smaller scale).
I was a bit bummed when I got home and realised the tape was that cheap not-really-sticky tape. My teacher friends will know what I mean, the one school supplies you with as if it's God's gift to your yearly supply stock but it's so worthless you'll give up a week's lunch to buy real Scotch tape to replace it. I tried but I couldn't get the crayons to stick to the cars. Anyway, this morning I came to school with two boxes of crayons and a few sheets of chart paper. Instant success!
There were less than a dozen students in class when I arrived so I gave them each a crayon and sat them on the floor around the chart paper.  They were so cute!  Even Angel got in on the action! I put a few extra crayons in the middle for them to share and change their colours, but we're still working on the sharing aspect. ;)
The teacher wrote a few numbers on the page and pointed them out to some of the students. Inspired by that I quickly did up a chart that said "numbers" in my worse handwriting EVER and the numbers from 1-10. Knowing that I couldn't afford to waste the paper, I tried to ignore the fact that title was below my own standards. The teacher seemed to like it.  She taped it on the wall and one by one I had some of the students come up and review numbers with me. As the class started to fill up I also went over body parts with them on a one by one basis. The crayons were packed away and the balls were brought out for indoor play.
I took a few photos of the students - well, I tried to.  They were all so eager to see themselves I couldn't get any good photos.  They much preferred the front facing camera and they ALL wanted to be in EVERY picture.  I have a few cute (but blurry) ones to share with you.
Soon it was time for porridge. At least I thought it was.  On Fridays the children have tea and scones.  A few of the students still had porridge sent from home.
After snack it was time for me to have tea with Evarist and the volunteers. It was Karen and Maddy's last day so it was a little sad for them.  I remember my last day in Thailand so I completely understand. Today we had samosas with our tea. They had ground beef inside and were served with lemon and lime wedges.  It was a nice mixture.
I had fun playing with the children after tea.  I was finally able to get a group of them  to sit in an almost-circle and throw/roll the ball to each other.  Sweet success!
I tried to take a few more photos but the results were the same.  I'll see if I can go back with my camera during the last week of placement.
I was helping prepare the lunches when Papa John arrived to pick us up.  We were heading back a little early to prepare for safari. The volunteers who were finishing up today were not happy about leaving early and I don't blame them.  I felt we should have left as close to our scheduled time as usual. I had packed my things the night before in anticipation of a short turnover time between arriving home from placement and going out on safari.
It's a shame that some of the volunteers are finishing up this weekend.  They seemed like really cool people and I would have liked to hang out with them a bit more. Since we are on the safari all weekend they'll be gone when we get back. Well... that was the first part of my day. Up next- an evening with the Maasai!

Day 4 -The Shuffle

Today was a little bit sad for me. There was a classroom shuffle today. Any student who was ready for the next level moved up a class.  Just like that.  If they were ready, the teacher confirmed for the director and that was it. 
I lost some of my darling love bugs - one almost broke my heart when he cried because he was leaving the class.  The positive side is that now there's a smaller group size and they're all at a similar ability level as far as their English. Our snack time is the same as the next class (they come in a few minutes after we've settled) so the children still get to see their friends. It was like a reunion for 1.5/2 year olds! So cute!

Day 3- 20/7

This morning the children played with blocks again; however, today they had duplo-style blocks.  So even though there aren't any supplies in the class there's obviously some storage place somewhere!
The babies are so welcoming and loving! I adore them already and I think it's going both ways. Today Karim insisted on giving me kisses! I let him do both cheeks but had to stop him there- such a ladies' man that one will be! I got a few kisses from some of the others as well as lots of hugs.
Today at snack I fed Angel her porridge. She is so easy going. She sat there and ate it all with no fussing... But apparently she wasn't feeling well. I had no idea until the entire bowl of porridge came flying back up!  The poor little love bug!  I was worried about her and the teachers were apologising profusely to me!  We finally got it all cleaned up before I headed over to tea.
Our treat today was a sort of lentil pastry, reminded me of Indian food.  I'll need to find out the name. It was yummy.
After snack the babies had play time with the balls.  We couldn't go outside because Karen and Maddy were working on a mural on the playground before they leave.
I copied down the names of all the students in the room.  I have a thing about making sure I call people by the correct name and seeing spelling sometimes helps.  I also have noticed that every day before snack they have to count how many students are present.  I have an idea to help with that but I'll need some supplies to make it work.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Day 2 - 19/07

I was a little nervous about day 2. More so than day 1! Thanks to my amazing nap, I didn't sleep much last night.  The benefit of this was that I was able to get on Pinterest which I haven't been able to do because of the internet connection.  I saved some ideas for a Montessori inspired infant /toddler space with hopes of sharing them with Evarist. I had checked the supplies earlier in the evening and didn't see anything I wanted for the babies.
7:00am (1 o'clock Swahili time) came before I knew it.  After some eggs, chapati, banana and mango juice it was time to hit the road.
When I arrived there were only a few students in class. I brought out my number cards I had brought with me so the children could practise their numbers using something other than their fingers.  It was fine until more children arrived. One of my little loves, we'll call him Kee, was hoarding a bunch of the cards and ended up ripping one.
The teacher brought some lego-style building blocks which got the children's attention.  They also had some balls to play with and the teacher wowed us (okay, me) with her juggling skills. The introduction of the toys made the morning more productive and manageable in my opinion. The first part of the morning really sped by and before I knew it, it was snack time.  We headed down to the dining room for porridge. After snack it was time for our volunteer tea break with Evarist. Today we had chai, chapati and a donut. It was like a full size donut ball without the sugar coating; I enjoyed it!
After tea I showed Evarist some of the ideas for a more hands-on classroom for the babies. He wasn't sure what he would be able to get in terms of supplies but he said to give him two days to do some homework for it. Hopefully we can make at least one activity for the babies before I leave. That'll make my whole trip worth it to me.
The weather was considerably warmer today so we took the babies out to the playground.  They had a blast!
When we went back inside they all wanted help taking off their sweaters and jackets. I started with two little ones and then others were circling around calling out "Mimi" which means I or in this case, me indicating their desire to be next... they haven't quite gotten down the idea of a line.
A teacher came to give them water before singing and dancing with the class. Our van was a little later than yesterday so I was able to help set up the mattresses for sleeping before the children went to lunch.  There were about 5 single size mattresses and the one from yesterday which is a little bigger but not a double size. 
After that playtime this morning I'm sure they slept well!  I know I should tonight!

Jambo Means Hello

Prior to my trip my mother asked if I had practised any Swahili. I replied with "Jambo means hello," little did she know I picked up that tidbit years ago thanks to a book my Auntie had entitled Jambo Means Hello! We used to read it all the time when we went camping. Of course my Swahili knowledge goes further than that; on my first day one of the local volunteers asked me if I knew what "rafiki" meant and I replied without missing a beat. He wanted to know how I knew- my reply? "I've seen The Lion King!" It is also to thank for my understanding of Simba  (lion), Asante Sana (thank you very much) and of course Hakuna Matata (no worries/problem). I'd  like to think I was off to a good start!
Feeling exhausted, my would have been power nap turned into a full blown nap going through both lunch and siesta time. I got up and ready in time for our first official Swahili lesson.
During our first lesson we covered basics for self-introduction. By the end of it we needed to recite our names, where we are from, our nationality, where our  placement is and our volunteer role. It was pretty good.  I'm finding Swahili a lot easier than Thai. I'll keep you posted, sawa?
(Sawa? Means okay? And then you say "sawa," which means okay.)

Mimi ninafanya kazi Hope Haeva

That is Swahili for I work at Hope Haeva. Mimi ni mwalimu - I am a teacher.

At 7:30am this morning we headed out for our placements.  This week I'll be in the baby class and when Karen and Maddy leave I'll take over the Four Year Old classroom from Karen.
It's been a while since I've worked in daycare - that was back in Halifax 2001-2005. I must say I'm aging like fine wine! But I digress... it's been a while since I've been in a class full of one year olds! I actually think I worked with 2 year olds in Halifax, but I could be wrong.
Anyways, I expected energy and these little lovebugs  delivered! They went above and beyond my expectations of high energy.  When talking to my darling sister about my day I believe I told her they were adorably cute and equally energetic.  I've already made some friends... teacher friends, you know the ones I mean!
The students began their day with a review of body parts and numbers to 10. After that... the real fun began. Apparently the babies typically spend most of their time playing outside.  You might remember me saying it's chillier than I expected. I'm not the only one who feels that way! My adorable babies are bundled up for winter!  One little girl had on a big pink, bubble jacket which she kept on all morning. Many other students had on heavy sweaters or tights or sweat pants under their uniform. One of the teachers had on a turtleneck! So due to the "cold" weather it's not seen to be a smart choice to have the babies out on the playground. Quite a few of them already have runny noses and are taking cough medicine to fight their colds. At one point I had to save my sweater from being used as a tissue by a particularly charismatic yet tricky little boy! Note to self: take an airborne in the morning.
Instead of outdoor play, the students played in the classroom... unfortunately there weren't any toys or materials, just one foam mattress, a few wall charts and a TV.
At 10:00am, which is actually called 4 o'clock Swahili time (more on that later), the children had a snack break. We went over to the dining room and they all had a cup or bowl of uji (porridge). Porridge is pretty popular out here, it's offered every morning for breakfast at Home Base. I haven't tried it yet, it reminds me of Cream of Wheat and I'm more of an oatmeal kind of girl.
After snack the children went back to class and the teacher put on a DVD which reminded me of an ESL Sesame Street.  You could tell which songs they preferred! A handful of students napped on the mattress while their friends either continued watching the show or made their own fun running around the perimeter of the room. I was the centre of some attention, as a kind of life sized doll.  The babies enjoyed touching (and at some points pulling) my hair, looking closely at my pink sand necklace, investigating my motion sickness bands and clothing. The most popular item was definitely my glasses! I meant to bring my all black frames but I have my black and gold ones so I don't blame the children for being distracted by them.
Evarist, the owner and director, had all of the volunteers in for a tea break. Apparently this is something he does most days.  He wants us to go home with a true taste of Tanzania. Today we had chai and a muffin very similar to pound cake. We talked for a bit before heading back to our classrooms.
The morning ended before I knew it. Papa John picked us up first then we made two other stops on the way home.  I realise I haven't introduced you to Papa John! I'll need to do that soon.
I was pretty busted after the morning so I took a nap before our scheduled siesta. What can I say?  I was tired so I slept, seems logical to me 😆😆
Time will tell if this was a good choice...

Orientation - 17 July

Dear Reader,
You'll be pleased to hear I slept well under my princess canopy (aka mosquito net). I woke up earlier than necessary at 5:00am so I checked my messages and did some reading before drifting back to sleep.  Breakfast was at 8:00am so I was able to get some rest before I needed to get ready. 
Breakfast was yummy - we had omelette style eggs simply called eggs, a pastry similar to a donut but better, boiled sweet potato and fresh local bananas.  We also had fresh mango and passion fruit juice- delicious! You're missing out on that one for sure.
After breakfast we had a full group introduction including all CCS volunteers, CCS in- country staff and local volunteers. As volunteers can choose their placement length there's a good overlap - this group's placements range from 2-7 weeks. After all introductions were made the new volunteers stayed behind for orientation with Mama Thea and George. I won't go into detail as it was a very thorough orientation meeting.
Orientation was followed by lunch.  We saw (and smelled) our chef Andrew cooking it while we were in the tour of the house.  We had beef stew, rice, lentils and veggies. Another satisfyingly tasty meal!
After lunch we met with our placement partners. I was pleased to meet Evarist, coowner of Hope Haeva Daycare. Evarist and his wife Haika started the school three years ago. Haeva is a combination of their names. He told us all about the history of school as well as their schedule.  I'll fill you in on that later.
I'll be volunteering at Hope Haeva with a family group that came on the same day as me- young Ben, his mother and grandmother. We'll be joining Karen and Maddy, a mother daughter duo who have already been volunteering at Hope Haeva for 2 weeks. This will be their last week. 
Once all formalities had been taken care of we headed into town.  I withdrew some Tish  (Tanzanian shillings) and picked up a pair of Moshi pants since it's a lot cooler than I expected and I can wear pants to work. We priced a weekend safari then stopped at the grocery market.  I picked up some hand soap as it wasn't provided in our bedrooms. I have been leaving my bar soap at the sink and carrying the container to the shower but for about  $2 USD I got a bottle of soap that will last longer than my three week placement- well worth it. I also topped up my snack supply with some cookies, banana chips and ice cream.
As mentioned it is cooler than I expected so grilled cheese and mushroom soup was a welcome dinner.  We also had pumpkin, green beans and onions and salad. Have I mentioned I'm pleased with the food? 😉
It was a full day with the promise of an exciting morning ahead so I decided to get everything ready and have an early night!

Here

On our descent for landing I admired how all I could see was grass and trees. So simple yet so beautiful. I thought to myself that I've never seen anything quite like it and a smile grew across my face as I realised - I haven't set for on this continent before; Welcome to Africa!

Safe and Sound

After almost 24 hours of traveling I've settled into the Home Base in Moshi, Tanzania. It's one of those places off the beaten track you'd never randomly decide to come for vacation but already I think I'm going to love it here - provided the mosquitos and lizards leave me alone!
I had a short tour of the main parts of the house, claimed my bunk and unpacked some of my belongings. I've met two roommates so far.
It's almost time for dinner then I'm going to try and have an early night so I can be rested for tomorrow morning.  We gave breakfast at 8:00am followed by orientation.
I look forward to sharing more information with you tomorrow! 

Off I go!

At 12:48pm Bermuda time my flight pulled away from the gate at JFK. We were scheduled to leave at 11:15am NYC time (12:15 Bda time) but apparently the aircraft was late arriving into JFK. I was tired for some reason, which may work out because it's currently 6:50pm Tanzania time.  After I eat and take my malaria tablets I should be able to sleep. 
Back to the flight business- this time I'm traveling on Qatar Airlines for my first time.  One of these days I'll be able to fly in luxury with those enviable bed seats but for now I'm in economy class with the normal folk ☺. I was not thrilled to see that I somehow had a middle seat (aka the worst seat ever for solo travel) but thankfully the window seat was empty so I shuffled over when the cabin doors closed, giving myself plenty of leg room.  My compression socks are on,  Swahili learning app and dictionary ready to go and I have no shortage of snacks thanks to my dear friend, Danielle!
Well, we're in the air now, I've chosen my first movie and soon it will be time for lunch/dinner. Here's to a smooth and safe flight!

In-flight Update

My watch says 6:10pm, which means it's ten minutes past midnight in Tanzania. I was sleeping.  But as you can tell, now I'm not.  😕
The reason being there are some cute little children two rows ahead who have NO IDEA that we're meant to be sleeping right now.  I wish their parents would clue them in on why it's so dark and why the flight attendants have asked them to leave their window shades closed (more than once).
On the upside, they really seem to be enjoying the flight.
Alright, I'm going to try for more sleep. Oh, wait!  I meant to tell you, I'm currently somewhere over England. Shout out to my family across the pond!  🇬🇧 👋 Hiiiii guyssss, love you!  😘